BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 

o- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


Bancroft  Library 

University  of  California 

WITHDRAWN 


* 

£ 


Pampas. 


THE  FIGHT  WITH  THE  PUMA.— Page  44 


ON  THE  PAMPAS 


OR 


THE  YOUNG  SETTLERS 


BY 
,&* 

G.   ATHENTYj  I  £35 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  YOUNG  FRANC-TIREURS,"   "THE  YOUNG  BUGLERS," 
"THE  MARCH  TO  MAGDALA,"   "WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK 

HURST  AND  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Fa  ?M  o 

,  I 

.  H4 


JWPTON  ACCESSION 

)7(p7 
itiCROFT  UBRA1Y 

tf  3  1.1938 

3  Q>  8  3  6~ 

Bancroft  Library 

University  of  California 

WITHDRAWN 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Mrs.  Hardy's  Resolution ,.      1 

CHAPTER  U. 
The  Start. 14 

CHAPTER  III. 
A  New  Life. 24 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Pampas 33 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Settler's  Home 48 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Tale  of  the  Mexican  War 63 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Seth  Continues  His  Narrative  of  the  Mexican  Adventure 80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Farm  Work  and  Amusements rL99 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Neighborly  Visits  and  Advice 114 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Lost  Cattle 124 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Quiet  Times 153 

CHAPTER  XII. 
A  Steady  Hand 168 


ft  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  PAGK 

The  Indian  Attack 1 84 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
TerribleNews ...  196 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Pampas  on  Fire 218 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
At  the  Stake...  o 241 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Itescued oo.o 256 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

>  o  a  a  o  o  o  o  e  o  9  e  c  °  o  o  o  c  o  o  o  o  ,»,  o  .  o  o  ,  s  ,  0  ,,,,,,,,  ,  ,,,,,,...    271 


OUT    ON    THE    PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
MRS.  HARDY'S  RESOLUTION. 

"WHAT  are  you  thinking  of,  Frank?"  Mrs.  Hardy 
asked  her  husband  one  evening,  after  an  unusually  long 
eilence  on  his  part. 

"Well,  my  dear,  I  was  thinking  of  a  good  many  things. 
In  the  first  place,  I  think,  I  began  with  wondering  what 
I  should  make  of  the  boys;  and  that  led  to  such  a  train 
of  thoughts  about  ourselves  and  our  circumstances  that 
I  hardly  knew  where  I  was  when  you  spoke  to  me." 

Mr.  Hardy  spoke  cheerfully,  but  his  wife  saw  at  once 
that  it  was  with  an  effort  that  he  did  so.  She  put  down 
the  work  upon  which  she  was  engaged,  and  moved  her 
chair  nearer  to  his  by  the  fire.  "It  is  a  serious  question, 
Frank,  about  the  boys.  Charley  is  fifteen  now,  and 
Hubert  fourteen.  I  wonder  myself  sometimes  what  we 
shall  do  with  them." 

"There  seems  no  opening  here  in  England  for  young 
fellows.  The  professions  are  crowded,  even  if  they  were 
not  altogether  beyond  our  means;  and  as  to  a  clerkship, 
they  had  better  have  a  trade,  and  stick  to  it:  they  would 
be  far  happier,  and  nearly  as  well  paid.  The  fact  is, 
Clara,"  and  here  Mr.  Hardy  paused  a  little,  as  if  to  gain 
courage  to  say  what  he  feared  would  be  very  disagreeable 
to  his  wife — "the  fact  is,  we  are  altogether  too  crowded 


2  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

here.  The  best  thing  for  the  children,  by  far,  and  I 
think  the  best  thing  for  ourselves,  would  be  to  emi- 
grate." 

Mrs.  Hardy  gave  a  little  sigh,  but  said  nothing,  and 
sat  looking  quietly  into  the  fire,  as  her  husband  went  on: 
"You  see,  my  dear,  I  am  just,  and  only  just  earning 
enough  for  us  to  live  upon.  Nor  is  there  any  strong 
probability  of  an  increase  of  business.  The  boys,  as  you 
say,  are  growing  up,  and  I  see  no  prospect  of  giving 
them  a  fair  start  in  life.  Abroad  it  is  altogether  differ- 
ent: we  can  buy  land  and  stock  it  for  next  to  nothing. 
We  should  live  roughly,  certainly;  but  at  least  there  is 
no  fear  for  the  future,  and  we  should  start  our  boys  in 
life  wffch  a  fair  certainty  of  success.  Still,  Clara,  I  do 
not  of  course  mean  that  I  have  made  up  my  mind  upon 
the  subject.  It  is  far  too  serious  a  matter  to  decide  upon 
hastily.  I  only  threw  out  the  suggestion;  and  if  you, 
after  thinking  it  over,  are  against  it,  there  is  an  end  of 
the  matter. " 

Mrs.  Hardy  was  silent  for  a  little,  and  a  tear  sparkled 
on  her  cheek  in  the  firelight;  then  she  said,  "I  am  not 
surprised,  Frank,  at  what  you  have  said.  In  fact  I  have 
expected  it  for  some  time.  I  have  observed  you  looking 
over  books  upon  foreign  countries,  and  have  seen  that 
you  often  sat  thoughtful  and  quiet.  I  guessed,  there- 
fore, what  you  had  in  your  mind.  Of  course,  dear,  as  a 
woman,  I  shrink  from  the  thought  of  leaving  all  our 
friends  and  going  to  quite  a  strange  country,  but  I  don't 
think  that  I  am  afraid  of  the  hardships  or  discomfort. 
Thousands  of  other  women  have  gone  through  them,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  do  the  same.  I  do 
think  with  you  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the 
boys,  perhaps  for  the  girls  too;  and  that,  when  we  have 
got  over  the  first  hardships,  we  too  should  be  happier 
and  more  free  from  care  than  we  are  now.  So  you  see, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  3 

Frank,  you  will  meet  with  no  opposition  from  me;  and 
3f,  after  deliberation,  you  really  determine  that  it  is  the 
best  thing  to  do,  I  shall  be  ready  to  agree  with  you.  But 
it  is  a  hard  thought  just  at  first,  so  please  do  not  say  any 
more  about  it  to-night." 

Mr.  Hardy  was  an  architect,  as  his  father  had  been  be- 
fore him.  He  had  not,  however,  entered  the  office  at 
the  usual  age,  but  when  eighteen  had  gone  out  to  the 
United  States,  to  visit  an  uncle  who  had  settled  there. 
After  spending  some  time  with  him,  the  love  of  adven- 
ture had  taken  him  to  the  far  West,  and  there  he  had 
hunted  and  shot  for  nearly  three  years,  till  a  letter,  long 
delayed  on  the  way,  entreated  him  to  return  to  England, 
as  his  father's  health  was  failing.  He  at  once  started  for 
England,  and  found  that  his  father  was  in  a  feeble  state 
of  health,  but  was  still  able  to  carry  on  the  business. 
Frank  saw,  however,  that  he  was  unequal  to  the  work, 
and  so  entered  the  office,  working  hard  to  make  up  for 
lost  time.  He  was  a  good  draughtsman,  and  was  shortly 
able  to  take  a  great  burden  off  his  father's  shoulders. 

He  had  not  been  long  at  home,  however,  before  he  fell 
in  love  with  Clara  Aintree,  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman; 
and  his  father  making  over  to  him  a  share  in  the  busi- 
ness, they  were  married  just  as  Frank  attained  his 
twenty-fourth  year,  his  wife  being  about  nineteen.  Two 
years  after  the  marriage  Mr.  Hardy  senior  died,  and  from 
that  time  Frank  had  carried  on  the  business  alone. 

B was  a  large  provincial  town,  but  it  scarcely 

afforded  remunerative  employment  for  an  architect;  and 
although  Mr.  Hardy  had  no  competitor  in  his  business, 
the  income  which  he  derived  from  it  was  by  no  means  a 
large  one,  and  the  increasing  expenses  of  his  family 
rendered  the  struggle  to  make  ends  meet  yearly  more 
severe.  His  father  had  been  possessed  of  a  small  private 
fortune,  but  had  rashly  entered  into  the  mania  of  railway 


4  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

speculation,  and  at  his  death  had  left  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  to  his  son.  This  sum  Frank  Hardy  had 
carefully  preserved  intact,  as  he  had  foreseen  that  the 
time  might  come  when  it  would,  for  his  children's  sake, 
be  advisable  to  emigrate.  He  had  long  looked  forward 
to  this,  but  had  abstained  from  taking  any  step  until  his 
sons  were  of  an  age  to  be  able  to  make  themselves  useful 
in  a  life  in  the  bush  or  upon  the  prairies. 

Frank  Hardy,  at  the  time  our  story  begins,  was  about 
forty.  He  was  a  tall,  active  man,  and  the  life  he  had 
led  in  America  when  young  had  hardened  his  muscles, 
and  given  him  the  full  use  of  every  faculty. 

Mrs.  Hardy  was  five  years  younger  than  her  husband, 
and  scarcely  looked  thirty  years  old.  She  was  a  high- 
spirited  woman,  well  fitted  to  be  her  husband's  compan- 
ion in  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  a  settler's  life. 

The  subject  of  emigration  once  started,  was  frequently 
continued,  and  presently  books  and  maps  began  to  be 
consulted,  and  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
various  countries  and  colonies  to  be  debated.  Finally, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy  agreed  that  the  Argentine  Republic, 
in  its  magnificent  rivers,  its  boundless  extent  of  fertile 
land,  in  its  splendid  climate,  its  cheap  labor,  and  ita 
probable  prospects,  offered  the  greatest  advantages. 

The  decision  once  arrived  at,  it  was  determined  to  an- 
nounce it  to  the  children,  who  had  up  to  this  time  no 
idea  of  the  great  change  decided  upon.  Breakfast  was 
over,  and  the  boys,  whose  holidays  had  just  begun,  were 
about  to  leave  the  table,  when  their  father  said:  "Wait 
a  moment,  boys;  there  is  something  we  want  to  talk  to 
you  about." 

The  boys  resumed  their  seats.  "Your  mamma  and  I 
have  been  wondering  what  you  boys  are  to  become,  and 
we  do  not  see  any  openings  likely  to  occur  here.  Now, 
what  should  you  say  to  us  all  emigrating?" 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  5 

"What,  going  abroad,  papa!"  they  both  exclaimed 
joyously. 

"Yes,  boys,  settling  in  the  backwoods  or  in  the 
prairies." 

"Oh,  that  would  be  jolly,"  Charley  said,  "I  know, 
papa,  having  fights  with  Indians,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing.  Oh,  it  would  be  glorious!" 

"Well,  Charley,"  his  father  said,  smiling,  "I  do  not 
know  that  we  shall  have  fights  with  Indians,  nor  do  I 
think  it  would  be  very  jolly  if  we  did.  But  we  should 
have  to  rough  it,  you  know;  you  boys  would  have  to  work 
hard,  to  help  me  in  everything,  and  to  look  after  the 
cattle  and  sheep." 

"What  fun!  what  fun!"  the  boys  both  shouted;  "we 
should  like  it  of  all  things  in  the  world." 

"And  what  do  you  think  of  it,  Maud  and  Ethel?" 
their  mamma  asked  the  two  little  girls,  who  were  look- 
ing very  surprised,  but  rather  doubtful  as  to  the  pleasure 
of  the  fights  with  Indians  which  their  brothers  had 
spoken  so  delightedly  about.  "You  will  have  to  be  two 
very  useful  little  women,  and  will  have  to  help  me  just 
as  the  boys  will  have  to  he'p  your  papa.  Very  likely  we 
may  not  be  able  to  get  a  servant  there,  and  then  we  shall 
have  to  do  everything." 

"That  will  be  fine,  mamma,"  said  Maud,  who  was 
rather  over  twelve,  while  her  sister  was  just  eleven.  "I 
don't  think  I  could  cook,  but  you  should  cook,  and  I 
could  scrub  and  do  all  the  hard  work,  and  Ethel  could 
wash  up,  and  lay  the  table,  and  that  sort  of  thing.  That 
would  be  fine,  mamma." 

Ethel,  who  almost  always  agreed  with  her  elder  sister, 
did  so  now,  and  the  four  young  ones  became  quite  up- 
roarious in  their  plans  for  making  themselves  useful. 
At  last  Mr.  Hardy  called  for  order. 

"Now  silence  all,  and  listen  to  me.     This  affair  is  a 


0  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

serious  business;  and  although  I  hope  and  believe  that 
we  shall  all  enjoy  our  life  very  much,  still  we  must  pre- 
pare for  it,  and  look  upon  it  in  earnest,  and  not  as  a  sort 
of  game.  I  have  business  here  which  I  cannot  finish 
before  another  eight  or  nine  months.  Let  us  all  make 
the  most  of  our  time  before  we  start.  In  the  first  place, 
the  language  of  the  people  among  whom  we  are  going  is 
Spanish,  and  we  must  all  learn  to  speak  it  well  before  we 
leave.  For  the  next  three  months  we  will  work  together 
at  grammar  and  exercises,  and  then  I  will  try  and  get 
some  Spanish  teacher  to  live  in  the  house,  and  speak  the 
language  with  us  until  we  go.  In  the  next  place,  it  will 
be  well  that  you  should  all  four  learn  to  ride.  I  have 
hired  the  paddock  next  to  our  garden,  and  have  bought 
a  pony,  which  will  be  here  to-day,  for  the  girls.  You 
boys  have  already  ridden  a  little,  and  I  shall  now  have 
you  taught  in  the  riding  school.  I  went  yesterday  to 
Mr.  Saris,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  allow  me  to  make 
an  arrangement  with  his  head  gardener  for  you  to  go 
there  to  learn  gardening.  He  at  once  agreed;  and  I 
have  arranged  with  the  gardener  that  you  are  both  to  be 
there  every  morning  at  six  o'clock,  and  are  to  work  until 
nine.  At  nine  you  will  come  in  to  breakfast.  From 
breakfast  to  dinner  you  will  have  to  yourselves,  except 
upon  the  days  you  take  riding  lessons;  and  I  should  wish 
you  to  spend  this  time  at  your  usual  studies,  except 
Latin,  which  will  be  of  no  use  to  you.  From  two  till 
half-past  four  you  are  to  learn  carpentering.  I  have 
made  an  agreement  with  Mr.  Jones  to  pay  him  so  much 
to  take  you  as  a  sort  of  apprentices  for  the  next  nine 
months.  In  the  evening  we  will  all  work  together  at 
Spanish.  It  will  be  hard  work;  but  if  you  want  to  be 
of  any  real  use  to  me,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  you 
should  be  able  to  use  a  spade  and  to  do  rough  carpenter- 
ing. As  the  time  draws  on,  too,  I  shall  ask  one  of  the 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  7 

farmers  near  to  let  you  go  out  with  his  men  and  get 
some  notion  of  plowing.  Well,  what  do  you  say  to  ail 
that?" 

Hubert  looked  a  little  downcast  at  this  recital  of  the 
preparatory  work  to  be  gone  through,  but  Charley  said  afc 
once,  "It  sounds  rather  hard,  papa,  but,  as  you  say,  we 
shall  have  to  work  hard  out  there,  and  it  is  much  better 
to  accustom  one's  self  to  it  at  once;  besides,  of  course, 
we  should  be  of  no  use  at  all  to  you  unless  we  knew 
something  about  work." 

"And  what  are  we  to  learn,  mamma?"  Maud  asked. 

"Not  a  very  great  deal,  my  dear,"  Mrs.  Hardy  said. 
"Spanish  to  begin  with,  then  cooking.  I  shall  teach  you 
at  any  rate,  to  make  simple  dishes  and  puddings,  and  to 
boil  vegetables  properly.  I  shall  myself  practice  until  I 
am  perfect,  and  then  I  shall  teach  you.  Besides  that,  it 
will  be  as  well  for  you  to  learn  to  attend  to  poultry;  and 
that  is  all  I  know  of  at  present,  except  that  you  must 
both  take  pains  to  improve  yourselves  at  sewing.  We 
shall  have  to  make  everything  for  ourselves  out  there." 

"I  suppose  we  shan't  do  any  more  regular  lessons, 
mamma?" 

"Indeed  you  will,  Maud.  You  do  not  imagine  that 
your  education  is  finished,  do  you?  and  you  cannot  wish 
to  grow  almost  as  ignorant  as  the  poor  Indians  of  the 
country.  Yon  will  give  up  the  piano,  and  learn  Spanish 
instead  of  French,  but  that  will  be  all  the  difference; 
and  I  shall  expect  you  both  to  make  as  much  progress  as 
possible,  because,  although  I  shall  take  you  both  out 
there,  and  shall  teach  you  whenever  I  find  time,  your 
lessons  must  of  necessity  be  short  and  irregular.  And 
now  you  can  all  go  out  into  the  garden  and  talk  the 
matter  over." 

"But  you  have  not  told  us  yet  where  we  are  going  to, 
papa,"  Charley  said. 


8  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"We  are  going  to  farm  upon  the  banks  of  one  of  the 
great  South  American  rivers — probably  the  Parana,  in 
the  Argentine  Kepublic." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy  watched  their  children  from  the 
•window.  They  went  out  in  a  group  to  the  summer-house 
in  the  corner  of  the  garden,  all  talking  excitedly.  Then 
Maud  ran  back  again  to  the  house,  and  in  a  minute  or 
two  returned  with  the  schoolroom  atlas,  and  opening  it 
upon  the  table,  they  all  clustered  over  it  in  eager  consul- 
tation. 

Mrs.  Hardy  turned  to  her  husband  with  a  smile. 
"You  will  have  to  get  up  the  subject,  Frank,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  answer  the  innumerable  questions  you  will  be 
asked." 

"I  shall  always  refer  them  to  you." 

There  was  quite  a  talk  in  B when  it  was  known 

that  Mr.  Hardy  was  going  to  emigrate  with  his  wife  and 
family.  He,  and  his  father  before  him,  had  been  so 
long  established  in  the  town  that  there  were  few  people 
who  did  not  know  him,  more  or  less. 

Emigration  in  the  year  1851  was  far  less  common  than 
it  is  now,  and  the  interest  was  proportionately  greater. 
Charley  and  Hubert  became  quite  popular  characters 
among  their  late  schoolfellows,  who,  whenever  they  met 
them,  would  always  stop  to  have  a  talk  about  the  distant 
country  to  which  they  were  going.  The  boys,  however, 
had  now  but  little  time  for  talking;  for  upon  the  week 
after  their  father  had  first  told  them  of  his  intention, 
they  had  set-to  regularly  at  the  work  he  had  laid  down 
for  them.  They  rose  every  morning  at  five,  had  a  slice  of 
bread  and  a  cup  of  milk,  and  were  off  to  the  gardener's, 
where  they  worked  hard  until  half-past  eight.  Mr. 
Hardy  had  requested  that  they  should  be  specially  in- 
structed in  the  raising  of  vegetables,  and  in  the  planting 
and  pruning  of  fruit-trees.  The  culture  of  flowers  could 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  9 

be  of  no  utility.  The  digging  made  the  boys'  backs  ache 
at  first,  and  blistered  their  hands,  but  they  stuck  to  it 
manfully,  and  soon  became  accustomed  to  the  work,  re- 
turning to  breakfast  with  glowing  cheeks  and  tremendous 
appetites. 

In  the  afternoon  they  might  be  seen  in  the  carpenter's 
shop  with  their  coats  and  waistcoats  off,  working  away 
with  saw  or  plane. 

Although  both  made  good  progress  in  both  pursuits, 
yet  their  tastes  differed;  Charley  preferring  the  carpen- 
tering, while  Hubert  was  the  gardener's  most  promising 
pupil.  The  former  was  therefore  christened  the  head 
carpenter  by  his  sisters,  while  the  latter  was  promoted  to 
the  post  of  chief  gardener. 

Four  or  five  months  of  this  work  made  a  visible  differ- 
ence in  the  boys'  appearance.  They  both  widened  out 
across  the  shoulders,  their  arms  became  strong  and 
muscular,  and  they  looked  altogther  more  healthy  and 
robust.  Nor  did  their  appearance  belie  them;  for  once 
when  spending  a  holiday  in  the  cricket-field  with  their 
former  schoolfellows,  wrestling  matches  being  proposed 
after  the  game  was  over,  they  found  that  they  were  able 
to  overcome  with  ease  boys  whom  they  had  formerly- 
considered  their  superiors  in  strength. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Hardy  had  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing the  services  of  a  young  Spanish  lady,  who  had  come 
to  England  to  learn  the  language,  as  governess;  and  of  an, 
evening  the  whole  family  worked  at  Spanish,  and  made 
such  progress  that  they  were  soon  able  to  establish  the 
rule  that  no  other  language  should  be  spoken  at  meal- 
times. The  girls  here  soon  surpassed  their  brothers,  as 
they  had  the  advantage  of  morning  lessons  in  the  lan- 
guage, besides  which  young  children  can  always  pick  up 
a  language  sooner  than  their  elders;  and  they  had  many 
a  hearty  laugh  at  the  ridiculous  mistakes  Charley  and 


10  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Hubert  made  in  their  efforts  to  get  through  a  long  sen- 
tence. In  six  months,  however,  all  could  speak  with 
tolerable  fluency. 

Maud  and  Ethel  were  as  amused  and  as  diligent  at 
learning  household  work  as  their  brothers  were  in  their 
departments,  and  might  have  been  seen  every  afternoon 
in  the  kitchen,  in  their  little  white  pinafores,  engaged  in 
learning  the  mysteries  of  cooking. 

One  day,  after  they  had  been  so  engaged  for  about  four 
months,  Mrs.  Hardy  said  at  breakfast:  "I  am  going  to 
try  an  experiment.  I  have  given  the  cook  leave  to  go 
out  for  the  day.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Partridge  are  coming  to 
dinner,  and  I  intend  handing  over  the  kitchen  to  the 
girls,  and  letting  them  make  their  first  essay.  We  are 
going  to  have  soup,  a  leg  of  mutton  with  potatoes  and 
spinach,  a  dish  of  fried  cutlets,  and  a  cabinet  pudding. 
I  shall  tell  Sarah  to  lift  any  saucepan  you  may  want  on 
or  off  the  fire,  but  all  the  rest  I  shall  leave  in  your  hands. 
The  boys  will  dine  with  us.  The  hour  will  be  half-past 
five,  punctually." 

The  little  girls'  eyes  flashed  with  pleasure,  and  they 
quite  colored  up  at  the  thought  of  the  importance  and 
difficulty  of  the  task  before  them.  At  lunch  the  boys 
pretended  to  eat  an  extra  quantity,  saying  that  they  felt 
very  doubtful  about  their  dinner.  In  the  afternoon  Mrs. 
Hardy  felt  strongly  tempted  to  go  into  the  kitchen  to  see 
how  things  were  getting  on;  but  she  restrained  herself, 
resolving  to  let  Maud  and  Ethel  have  entirely  their  own 
way. 

The  dinner  was  a  great  success,  although  the  soup  waa 
rather  hot,  from  Ethel,  in  her  anxiety,  having  let  too 
much  pepper  slip  in;  and  the  cabinet  pudding  came  up 
all  over  the  dish,  instead  of  preserving  its  shape,  it  hav- 
ing stuck  to  the  mold,  and  Maud  having  shaken  it  so 
violently  that  it  had  come  out  with  a  burst  and  broken 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  11 

np  into  pieces,  which  had  caused  a  flood  of  tears  on  the 
part  of  the  little  cook.  It  did  not  taste  any  the  worse, 
however.  And  when  the  little  girls  came  in  to  dessert 
in  their  white  frocks,  looking  rather  shy,  and  very 
scorched  in  the  face,  from  their  anxious  peeping  into 
pots  to  see  that  all  was  going  on  well,  they  were  received 
with  a  cheer  by  the  boys;  and  their  friends  were  not 
a  little  astonished  to  hear  that  the  dinner  they  had  par- 
taken of  had  been  entirely  prepared  and  cooked  by  these 
little  women. 

After  four  months'  gardening,  Mr.  Hardy  placed  the 
boys  with  a  farmer  who  lived  a  mile  distant,  and  made 
an  arrangement  for  them  to  breakfast  there,  so  that  they 
now  remained  at  work  from  six  in  the  morning  until 
twelve.  Here  they  obtained  some  idea  of  harnessing  and 
driving  horses,  of  plowing,  and  of  the  other  farming 
operations. 

They  now  only  went  four  days  a  week  to  the  carpen- 
ter's, for  their  papa  had  one  day  said  to  them  when  they 
were  alone  with  him  before  dinner:  "Do  not  put  on  your 
working  clothes  this  afternoon,  boys;  I  am  going  to  take 
you  out  with  me,  but  do  not  say  anything  about  it  at 
dinner.  I  will  tell  you  why  afterward." 

Rather  surprised,  they  did  as  he  told  them,  wondering 
where  they  could  be  going.  Their  father  said  nothing 
on  the  subject  until  they  reached  the  town,  which  was  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  their  house.  Then  he 
said:  "Now,  boys,  you  know  we  are  going  out  to  a  coun- 
try of  which  a  great  portion  is  still  unsettled;  and  as 
land  is  a  good  deal  cheaper  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
inhabited  parts,  we  shall  perhaps  have  no  one  within 
many  miles  of  us.  Now  it  is  just  possible  that  at  first 
the  Indians  may  be  disposed  to  be  troublesome.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  they  will,  but  it  is  just  as  well  to  be  pre- 
pared for  everything.  There  is  no  reason  why  you  boys 


$2  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

should  not  be  able  to  shoot  as  straightly  as  a  man,  and  I 
have  therefore  bought  two  carbines.  They  are  the  in- 
vention of  an  American  named  Colt,  and  have  a  revolv- 
ing breech,  so  that  they  fire  six  shots  each.  There  is  a 
spare  chamber  to  each,  which  is  very  quickly  shifted  in 
place  of  the  one  discharged;  so  that  each  of  you  could 
fire  twelve  shots  in  a  very  short  time.  They  will  carry 
up  to  five  hundred  yards.  They  are  a  new  invention, 
but  all  accounts  agree  that  they  are  an  excellent  one.  I 
have  obtained  leave  from  Mr.  Harcourt,  who  lives  three 
miles  from  here,  to  put  up  a  target  at  the  foot  of  some 
bare  hills  on  his  property,  and  we  will  walk  over  there 
twice  a  week  to  practice.  I  used  to  be  considered  a  first- 
rate  shot  with  a  rifle  when  I  was  a  young  man  in  Amer- 
ica, and  I  have  got  down  a  rifle  for  my  own  use.  I  do 
not  want  you  to  speak  about  what  we  are  doing  to  your 
mamma,  or  indeed  to  any  one.  We  shall  keep  our  rifles 
at  a  cottage  near  where  we  shoot,  and  no  one  need  know 
anything  about  it.  It  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  have 
any  trouble  with  the  Indians,  and  it  is  of  no  use  making 
your  mamma  uncomfortable  by  the  thought  of  the  prob- 
ability of  such  a  thing." 

As  Mr.  Hardy  spoke  the  boys  were  ready  to  dance 
with  delight,  and  this  was  increased  when  they  turned 
into  the  gunsmith's  shop,  and  were  shown  the  arms 
which  their  father  had  bought  for  this  expedition. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  already  an  excellent  double-barreled 
gun,  and  he  had  now  purchased  a  long  and  heavy  rifle 
carrying  a  conical  ball.  In  addition  to  the  boys'  car- 
bines, he  had  bought  them  each  a  light  double-barreled 
gun.  Besides  these  were  two  brace  of  Colt's  revolving 
pistols.  These  were  all  new;  but  there  were  in  addition 
two  or  three  second-hand  double-barreled  guns  for  the 
use  of  his  servants,  in  case  of  necessity,  and  three  light 
rifles  of  the  sort  used  for  rook-shooting.  Altogether,  it 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  13 

quite  an  armory.  The  carbines  were  in  neat  cases; 
and  the  boys  carried  these  and  a  box  of  cartridges,  while 
Mr.  Hardy  took  his  rifle;  and  so  they  started  off  to  their 
shooting  ground. 

Here  their  father  instructed  them  in  the  use  of  their 
revolving  carbines,  and  then,  after  some  practice  with 
caps  only,  allowed  them  to  fire  a  few  shots  each.     The 
firing  was  certainly  rather  wild,  owing  to  the  difficulty 
they  felt  at  first  of  firing  without  shutting  their  eyes; 
,  but  after  a  few  weeks'  practice  they  became  very  steady, 
.  and  in  three  or  four  months  could  make  pretty  certain 
of  a  bull's-eye  at  three  hundred  yards.     Of  all  this  Mrs. 
,  Hardy  and  the  girls  knew  nothing;  but  there  was  not  the 
.  same  secrecy  observed  with  reference  to  their  shotguns. 
These  they  took  home  with  them,  and  Mr.  Hardy  said 
that  he  understood  that  the  plains  of  South  America 
swarmed  with  game,  and  that,  therefore,  it  was  well  that 
the  boys  should  learn  how  to  shoot.     He  insisted,  how- 
ever, that  only  one  gun  should  be  taken  out  at  a  time, 
to  diminish  the  danger  of  accidents.     After  that  the 
boys  took  out  their  guns  by  turns  when  they  went  to 
work  of  a  morning,  and  many  a  dead  blackbird  soon 
attested  to  their  improving  skill. 


U  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  START. 

1  IT  was  nearly  a  year  after  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
emigrate  before  Mr.  Hardy  was  able  to  conclude  all  his 
arrangements.  Then  came  the  great  business  of  packing 
up.  This  is  no  trifling  matter  when  a  family  of  six  per- 
sons are  going  to  make  a  move  to  a  new  country.  Mr. 
Hardy  had  at  first  thought  of  taking  portable  furniture 
with  him,  but  had  been  told  by  a  friend  who  knew  the 
country  that  every  requisite  could  be  obtained  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  the  capital  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  at  a  far  lesa 
price  than  he  could  convey  such  heavy  articles  from 
England.  Still  the  bulk  of  luggage  was  very  large;  and 
the  boys,  who  had  now  left  off  their  farming  and  carpen- 
tering lessons,  worked  at  home  at  packing-cases,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  turning  their  new  acquirements 
to  a  useful  purp'ose.  In  addition  to  the  personal  bag- 
gage, Mr.  Hardy  was  taking  with  him  plows  and  agricul- 
tural implements  of  English  make,  besides  a  good  stock 
of  seeds  of  various  kinds.  These  had  been  sent  on  direct 
by  a  sailing  ship,  starting  a  fortnight  before  themselves. 
When  their  heavy  baggage  was  packed  up  it  too  was 
sent  off,  so  as  to  be  put  on  board  the  steamer  by  which 
they  were  to  sail;  and  then  came  a  long  round  of  visits 
to  bid  farewell  to  all  their  friends.  This  was  a  sad  busi- 
ness; for  although  the  boys  and  their  sisters  were  alike 
excited  and  delighted  at  the  thought  of  the  life  before 
them,  still  they  could  not  but  feel  sorrowful  when  the 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS.  13 

time  came  to  leave  all  the  friends  they  had  known  so 
long,  and  the  house  they  had  lived  in  ever  since  they 
could  remember. 

This  over  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  children  went  to  Liver- 
pool, where  they  were  to  embark;  while  Mr.  Hardy 
remained  behind  for  a  day  or  two,  to  see  to  the  sale  of  the 
furniture  of  the  house.  The  day  after  he  joined  the 
family  they  embarked  on  board  the  Barbadoes,  for  Bio 
and  Buenos  Ayres.  Greatly  were  the  girls  amused  at  the 
tiny  little  cabin  allotted  to  them  and  their  mother — a 
similar  little  den  being  taken  possession  of  by  Mr.  Hardy 
and  the  boys.  The  smartness  of  the  vessel,  and  the  style 
of  her  fittings,  alike  impressed  and  delighted  them.  It 
has  not  been  mentioned  that  Sarah,  their  housemaid,  ac- 
companied the  party.  She  had  been  left  early  an  orphan, 
and  bad  been  taken  as  a  nursemaid  by  Mrs.  Hardy.  As 
time  T?ent  OB,  and  the  little  girls  no  longer  required  a 
nurse,  she  had  remained  as  housemaid,  and  having  no 
friends,  now  willingly  accompanied  them.  Mr.  Hardy 
had,  to  her  great  amusement,  insisted  upon  her  signing 
a  paper,  agreeing,  upon  her  masters  paying  her  passage, 
to  remain  with  him  for  a  year;  at  the  end  of  which  time 
she  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  marry  or  to  leave  them, 
should  she  choose. 

Knowing  the  scarcity  of  young  Englishwomen  in  the 
country  that  they  were  going  to,  and  the  number  of 
Englishmen  doing  well  in  the  towns  or  as  farmers,  Mr. 
Hardy  had  considered  this  precaution  to  be  absolutely 
necessary;  as  otherwise  Sarah  might  have  married  and 
left  them  within  a  month  of  her  arrival.  At  the  end  of 
a  year  her  so  doing  would  not  matter  so  much,  as  by  thai 
time  the  party  would  be  comfortably  settled  in  their  new 
home;  whereas  during  the  necessary  hardship  at  first,  it 
would  be  a  great  comfort  having  a  faithful  and  reliable 
servant. 


16  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

The  last  looks  which  the  party  cast  toward  England, 
as  the  Welsh  coast  sank  in  the  distance,  were  less  melan- 
choly than  those  of  most  emigrants.  The  young  people 
were  all  full  of  hope  and  excitement;  while  even  Mrs. 
Hardy  felt  but  little  disposed  to  give  way  to  sorrow,  aa 
it  had  been  arranged  that  in  three  or  four  years,  if  all 
went  well,  she  should  bring  her  daughters  over  to  Eng- 
land to  finish  their  education. 

Very  lovely  was  that  first  evening,  and  as  they  sat  in  a 
group  together  upon  deck  the  little  girls  remarked  that 
they  did  not  think  that  the  sea  was  anything  like  as 
terrible  as  they  had  expected,  and  that  they  did  not  feel 
the  least  seasick.  Their  father  smiled:  "Wait  a  little, 
my  dears;  there  is  an  old  proverb,  'Don't  halloo  until 
you  are  out  of  the  wood.'  " 

The  next  day  was  still  perfectly  calm;  and  when,  to- 
ward evening,  the  children  were  told  that  they  were  now 
fairly  getting  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  they  could  scarcely 
believe  the  intelligence. 

"Why,  one  would  think,  Maud,"  her  father  said, 
"that  you  were  disappointed  at  its  being  calm,  and  that 
you  really  wanted  a  storm." 

"Oh,  papa,  I  do  think  it  would  be  great  fun;  it  would 
be  so  curious  not  to  be  able  to  walk  about,  and  to  see 
everything  rolling  and  tumbling.  Don't  you  think  so, 
boys?" 

"Yes,  I  think  so,  Maud;  great  fun,"  Charley  said. 

"Well,  young  people,"  the  captain,  who  had  been, 
standing  by  watching  the  sun,  now  fast  nearing  the  hori- 
zon, and  who  had  overheard  their  remarks,  said,  "if  it  is 
any  satisfaction  to  you,  I  can  tell  you  that  you  are  very 
likely  to  have  your  wish  gratified.  But  I  question  if  you 
will  like  it  as  much  as  you  expect." 

"Ah,  you  expect  wind,  Captain  Trevor?"  Mr.  Hardy 
*aid.  "I  have  been  thinking  myself  that  the  almost  op- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  17 

pressive  stillness  of  to-day,  and  the  look  of  the  sunset, 
and  these  black  clouds  banking  up  in  the  southwest, 
meant  a  change.  What  does  the  glass  say?" 

"It  is  falling  very  rapidly/'  the  captain  answered. 
"We  are  in  for  a  sou'wester,  and  a  stiff  one  too,  or  I  am 
mistaken." 

Now  that  it  appeared  likely  that  their  wishes  were 
about  to  be  gratified,  the  young  Hardys  did  not  seem  so 
pleased  as  they  had  expected,  although  Charley  still  de- 
clared manfully  that  he  was  quite  in  earnest,  and  that  he 
did  wish  to  see  a  real  storm  at  sea. 

As  the  sun  set  the  party  still  leaned  against  the  bul- 
warks watching  it,  and  the  great  bank  of  clouds,  which 
seemed  every  moment  to  be  rising  higher  and  higher. 
There  was  still  nearly  a  dead  calm  around  them,  and  the 
heavy  beat  of  the  paddles,  as  they  lashed  the  water  into 
foam,  and  the  dull  thud  of  the  engine,  were  the  only 
sounds  that  broke  the  stillness.  Now  and  then,  how- 
ever, a  short  puff  of  wind  ruffled  the  water,  and  then 
died  away  again. 

"Look  at  that  great  cloud,  papa,"  Hubert  said;  "it 
almost  looks  as  if  it  were  alive." 

"Yes,  Hubert>  it  is  very  grand;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
about  there  being  wind  there." 

The  great  cloud  bank  appeared  to  be  in  constant  mo- 
tion. Its  shape  was  incessantly  shifting  and  changing; 
now  a  great  mass  would  roll  upward,  now  sink  down 
again;  now  the  whole  body  would  seem  to  roll  over  and 
•over  upon  itself;  then  small  portions  would  break  off 
irom  the  mass,  and  sail  off  by  themselves,  getting  thinner 
^nd  thinner,  and  disappearing  at  last  in  the  shape  of  fine 
streamers.  Momentarily  the  whole  of  the  heaving, 
swelling  mass  rose  higher  and  higher.  It  was  very 
grand,  but  it  was  a  terrible  grandeur;  and  the  others 
were  quite  inclined  to  agree  with  Ethel,  who  shrank  close 


18  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

to  her  father,  and  put  her  hand  in  his,  saying,  "I  don't 
like  that  cloud,  papa;  it  frightens  me." 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  Hardy,  who  had  been  down 
below  arranging  her  cabin,  came  up  to  the  group. 
"What  a  dark  cloud,  Frank;  and  how  it  moves.  Are  we 
going  to  have  a  storm,  do  you  think?" 

"Well,  Clara,  I  think  that  we  are  in  for  a  gale;  and  if 
you  will  take  my  advice,  you  will  go  down  at  once  while 
it  is  calm,  and  see  that  the  trunks,  and  everything  that 
can  roll  about,  are  securely  fastened  up.  I  will  come 
down  and  help  you.  Boys,  you  had  better  go  down  and 
see  that  everything  is  snug  in  our  cabin." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  necessary  arrangements 
were  completed,  but  even  in  that  short  time  they  could 
feel  that  a  change  was  taking  place.  There  was  now  a 
steady  but  decided  rolling  motion,  and  the  young  ones 
laughed  as  they  found  it  difficult  to  walk  steadily  along 
the  cabin. 

Upon  reaching  the  deck  they  saw  that  the  smooth  sur- 
face of  the  sea  was  broken  up  by  a  long  swell,  that  the 
wind  now  came  in  short  but  sharp  puffs,  that  the  bank 
of  clouds  covered  nearly  half  the  sky,  and  that  the  de- 
tached scud  was  now  flying  overhead.  The  previous 
stillness  was  gone;  and  between  the  sudden  gusts,  the 
roar  of  the  wind  in  the  upper  region  could  be  heard. 
The  sun  had  set  now,  and  a  pall  of  deep  blackness 
seemed  to  hang  from  the  cloud  down  to  the  sea;  but  at 
the  line  where  cloud  and  water  touched,  a  gleam  of  dim 
white  light  appeared. 

In  preparation  for  the  coming  storm,  the  sailors  had 
put  on  thick  waterproof  coats.  Many  of  the  passengers 
had  gone  below,  and  those  who  remained  had  followed 
the  sailors'  example,  and  had  wrapped  themselves  up  in 
mackintoshes. 
,  Every  moment  the  gusts  increased  iu  frequency  and 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  19 

power,  and  the  regular  line  of  swell  became  broken  up 
into  confused  white-headed  waves.  The  white  gleam 
tinder  the  dark  cloud  grew  wider  and  broader,  and  at 
last,  with  a  roar  like  that  of  a  thousand  wild  beasts,  the 
gale  broke  upon  them.  Just  before  this  Mr.  Hardy  had 
taken  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  below,  promising  the 
latter  that  they  should  come  up  later  for  a  peep  out,  if 
they  still  wished  it.  Charley  and  Hubert  were  leaning 
against  the  bulwark  when  the  gale  struck  them. 

For  a  moment  they  were  blinded  and  half-choked  by 
the  force  and  fury  of  the  spray  and  wind,  and  crouched 
down  behind  their  shelter  to  recover  themselves. 
Then,  with  a  hearty  laugh  at  their  drenched  appearance, 
they  made  their  way  to  the  mainmast,  and  then,  holding 
on  by  the  belaying  pins,  they  were  able  to  look  fairly  out 
on  the  gale.  It  was  dark — so  dark  that  they  could 
scarcely  see  as  far  as  the  foremast.  Around,  the  sea 
was  white  with  foam;  the  wind  blew  so  fiercely  that  they 
could  scarcely  hear  each  other's  voices,  even  when  they 
shouted,  and  the  steamer  labored  heavily  against  the  fast 
rising  sea.  Here  Mr.  Hardy  joined  them,  and  for  some 
little  time  clung  there,  watching  the  increasing  fury  of 
the  gale;  then,  drenched  and  almost  confused  by  the 
strife  of  winds  and  water  that  they  had  been  watching, 
they  made  their  way,  with  great  difficulty,  down  into  the 
cabin. 

Here  the  feeling  of  seasickness,  which  the  excitement 
of  the  scene  had  kept  off,  increased  rapidly;  and  they 
were  glad  to  slip  off  their  upper  clothes,  and  to  throw 
themselves  upon  their  berths  before  the  paroxysm  of 
sickness  came  on. 

When  questioned  afterward  as  to  the  events  of  the  next 
thirty-six  hours,  the  young  Hardys  were  all  obliged  to 
confess  that  that  time  was  a  sort  of  blank  in  their  mem- 
ory— a  sort  of  horrible  nightmare,  when  one  moment 


20  >  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

they  seemed  to  De  on  their  heads,  and  the  next  upon 
their  feet,  but  never  lying  down  in  a  comfortable  posi- 
tion, when  sometimes  the  top  of  the  cabin  seemed  under 
their  feet,  sometimes  the  floor  over  their  head.  Then, 
for  a  change,  everything  would  go  round  and  round;  tho 
noise,  too,  the  groaning  and  the  thumping  and  the 
cracking,  the  thud  of  the  waves  and  the  thump  of  the 
paddles,  and  the  general  quivering,  and  shaking,  and 
creaking,  and  bewilderment — altogether  it  was  a  most 
unpleasant  nightmare.  They  had  all  dim  visions  of  Mr. 
Hardy  coming  in  several  times  to  see  after  them,  and  to 
give  them  a  cup  of  tea,  and  to  say  something  cheering  to 
them;  and  all  four  had  a  distinct  idea  that  they  had 
many  times  wished  themselves  dead. 

Upon  the  second  morning  after  the  storm  began  it 
showed  some  signs  of  abating,  and  Mr.  Hardy  said  to  his 
sons,  "Now,  boys,  make  an  effort  and  come  upon  deck; 
it's  no  use  lying  there;  the  fresh  air  will  do  you  good." 
Two  dismal  groans  were  the  only  response  to  this  appeal. 

"Yes,  I  know  that  you  both  feel  very  bad,  and  that  it 
is  difficult  to  turn  out;  still  it  is  worth  making  the  effort, 
and  you  will  be  very  glad  of  it  afterward.  Come,  jump 
up,  else  I  shall  empty  the  water-jug  over  you.  There, 
you  need  not  take  much  trouble  with  your  dressing/'  he 
went  on,  as  the  boys,  seeing  that  he  was  in  earnest, 
turned  out  of  their  berths  with  a  grievous  moan.  "Just 
hold  on  by  something,  and  get  your  heads  over  the 
basin;  I  will  empty  the  jugs  on  them.  There  now  you 
will  feel  better;  slip  on  your  clothes  and  come  up." 

It  was  hard  work  for  Charley  and  Hubert  to  obey 
orders,  for  the  ship  rolled  so  tremendously  that  they 
could  only  proceed  with  their  dressing  by  fits  and  starts, 
and  were  more  than  once  interrupted  by  attacks  of  their 
weary  seasickness.  However,  their  father  stayed  with 
them,  helping  and  joking  with  them  until  they  were 


0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

ready  to  go  up.  Then,  taking  them  by  the  arm,  he 
assisted  them  up  the  stairs  to  the  deck. 

Miserable  as  the  boys  felt,  they  could  not  suppress  an 
exclamation  of  admiration  at  the  magnificent  scene  be- 
fore them.  The  sea  was  tossed  up  in  great  masses  of 
water,  which,  as  they  neared  the  ship,  threatened  to 
overwhelm  them,  but  which,  as  she  rose  on  their  sum- 
mits, passed  harmlessly  under  her,  hurling,  however, 
tons  of  water  upon  her  deck.  The  wind  was  still  blow- 
ing fiercely,  but  a  rift  in  the  clouds  above,  through 
which  the  sun  threw  down  a  bright  ray  of  light  upon  the 
tossing  water,  showed  that  the  gale  was  breaking. 

The  excitement  of  the  scene,  the  difficulty  of  keeping 
their  feet,  and  the  influence  of  the  rushing  wind,  soon 
had  the  effect  which  their  father  predicted.  The  boys' 
looks  brightened,  their  courage  returned;  and  although 
they  still  had  an  occasional  relapse  of  sickness,  they  felt 
quite  different  beings,  and  would  not  have  returned  to 
the  blank  misery  of  their  cabins  upon  any  consideration. 
They  were  soon  able  to  eat  a  piece  of  dry  toast,  which 
Mr.  Hardy  brought  them  up  with  a  cup  of  tea  at  break- 
fast-time, and  to  enjoy  a  basin  of  soup  at  twelve  o'clock, 
after  which  they  pronounced  themselves  as  cured. 

By  the  afternoon  the  force  of  the  wind  had  greatly 
abated,  and  although  a  heavy  sea  still  ran,  the  motion  of 
the  vessel  was  perceptibly  easier.  The  sun,  too,  shone 
out  brightly  and  cheeringly,  and  Mr.  Hardy  was  able  to 
bring  the  little  girls,  who  had  not  suffered  so  severely  as 
their  brothers,  upon  deck.  Two  more  days  of  fine 
weather  quite  recruited  all  the  party;  and  great  was  their 
enjoyment  as  the  Barbadoes  entered  the  Tagus,  and, 
steaming  between  its  picturesque  banks  and  past  Cintra, 
dropped  her  anchor  off  Lisbon. 

As  our  object,  however,  is  to  relate  the  adventures  of 
our  young  settlers  upon  the  Pampas  of  La  Plata,  we 


22  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

must  not  delay  to  describe  the  pleasure  they  enjoyed  in 
this  their  first  experience  in  foreign  lands,  nor  to  give  an. 
account  of  their  subsequent  voyage  across  the  Atlantic, 
or  their  admiration  at  the  superb  harbor  of  Rio.  A  few 
days'  further  steaming  and  they  arrived  at  the  harbor  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  where  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Uruguay 
and  the  Parana,  unite  to  form  the  wide  sheet  of  water 
called  the  river  La  Plata.  It  was  night  when  the 
Barbadoes  dropped  her  anchor,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
morning  that  they  obtained  their  first  view  of  their  future 
home. 

Very  early  were  they  astir,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  broad 
daylight  all  four  of  the  young  ones  were  up  on  deck. 
Their  first  exclamation  was  one  of  disappointment.  The 
shores  were  perfectly  flat,  and,  seen  from  the  distance  at 
which  they  were  anchored,  little  except  the  spires  of  the 
churches  and  the  roofs  of  a  few  of  the  more  lofty 
houses  could  be  seen.  After  the  magoficent  harbor  of 
Rio,  this  flat,  uninteresting  coast  was  most  disappointing. 

"What  a  distance  we  are  anchored  from  the  shore!" 
Hubert  said,  when  they  had  recovered  a  little  from  their 
first  feeling.  "It  must  be  three  or  four  miles  off." 

"Not  so  much  as  that,  Hubert,"  Maud,  who  was  just 
a  little  fond  of  contradicting,  said;  "not  more  than  two 
miles,  I  should  think." 

Hubert  stuck  to  his  opinion;  and  as  the  captain  came 
on  deck  they  referred  the  matter  to  him. 

"The  distance  of  objects  across  water  is  very  deceiv- 
ing," he  said.  "It  is  from  eight  to  nine  miles  to  those 
buildings  you  see." 

Maud  looked  rather  crestfallen,  and  Charley  asked, 
"Why  do  we  anchor  such  a  long  way  off,  captain?" 

"Because  the  shore  is  so  flat  that  there  is  no  water  for 
us  to  get  in  any  closer.  In  a  couple  of  hours  you  will  see 
boats  coming  out  to  fetch  you  in;  and  unless  it  happens 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  S3 

to  be  high  tide,  even  these  cannot  get  to  the  beach,  and 
you  will  have  to  land  in  carts. " 

"In  carts,  Captain  Trevor?"  they  all  repeated;  "that 
will  be  a  strange  way  of  landing." 

"Yes,  it  is,"  the  captain  answered.  "I  think  that  we 
can  safely  say  that  the  Argentine  Kepublic  is  the  only 
country  in  the  world  where  the  only  way  to  land  at  its 
chief  city  is  in  a  cart." 

The  captain's  boat  was  by  this  time  lowered,  and  he  at 
once  started  for  shore  with  his  papers.  Soon  after  ten 
o'clock  he  returned,  followed  by  a  number  of  boats.  He 
brought  also  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hardy  from  an  old  friend 
who  had  been  settled  for  some  years  near  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  whose  advice  had  decided  him  to  fix  upon  that  coun- 
try as  tfie  scene  of  his  labors.  It  contained  a  warm  wel- 
come, and  a  hearty  congratulation  upon  their  safe 
arrival.  This  letter  had  been  written  two  or  three  days 
previously,  and  had  been  left  at  the  office  of  the  steam- 
ship company.  It  said,  however,  that  the  writer  would 
hear  of  the  arrival  of  the  steamer,  and  would  have  every- 
thing in  readiness  to  take  them  out  to  his  place  upon 
their  landing. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  been  in  frequent  communication  with 
his  friend  from  the  time  that  he  had  determined  to 
emigrate,  and  Mr.  Thompson's  letters  had  contained  the 
warmest  assurance  of  a  welcome,  and  an  invitation  to 
make  his  house  their  home  until  they  had  one  of  their 
own  to  go  into;  and  now  this  kind  letter,  coming  off  so 
instantly  after  their  arrival,  cheered  them  all  much,  and 
made  them  feel  less  strange  and  to  some  extent  at  home 
in  the  new  country  at  once. 


24  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A   NEW  LIFE. 

TIDE  was  fortunately  high,  and  the  boat  containing 
the  Hardys  and  the  lighter  portion  of  their  luggage  was 
able  to  get  up  to  the  landing  place  without  the  carts  be- 
ing called  into  use.  As  they  approached  the  land  they 
were  hailed  in  a  hearty  voice,  and  greetings  were  ex- 
changed between  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  friend  Mr.  Thomp- 
son— a  sunburnt-looking  man  with  a  great  beard — in  a 
Panama  hat  and  in  a  suit  of  spotless  white. 

"Why,  Mrs.  Hardy,"  he  said  as  they  landed,  "you 
hardly  look  a  day  older  than  you  did  when  I  last  saw  you 
— let  me  see — fourteen  years  ago,  just  as  this  big  fellow 
was  beginning  to  walk.  And  now,  if  you  please,  we  will 
be  off  as  soon  as  we  can,  for  my  estancia  is  fifteen  miles 
away.  I  have  made  the  best  arrangements  I  could  for 
getting  out;  but  roads  are  not  a  strong  point  in  this 
country,  and  we  seldom  trust  ourselves  in  wheeled 
vehicles  far  out  of  the  town.  You  told  me  in  your  letters, 
Hardy,  that  the  young  people  could  all  ride.  I  have 
horses  in  any  number,  and  have  got  in  two  very  quiet 
ones,  with  side-saddles,  which  I  borrowed  from  some 
neighbors  for  your  girls;  but  if  they  prefer  it,  they  can 
ride  in  the  trap  with  Mrs.  Hardy." 

"Oh,  no,  please,"  Maud  said;  "I  had  much  rather 
ride." 

Ethel  said  nothing,  and  her  mamma  saw  that  she 
would  rather  go  with  her.  Accordingly,  Mrs.  Hardy, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  25 

Ethel,  Sarah,  and  some  of  the  lighter  bags  were  packed 
into  a  light  carriage,  Mr.  Thompson  himself  taking  the 
reins,  as  he  said  he  could  not  trust  them  to  any  one  but 
himself.  Mr.  Hardy,  the  boys,  and  Maud  mounted  the 
horses  prepared  for  them,  and  two  of  Mr.  Thompson's 
men  stowed  the  heavier  trunks  into  a  bullock  cart,  which 
was  to  start  at  once,  but  which  would  no^  leach  the 
estancia  until  late  at  night. 

As  the  party  rode  through  the  town  they  were  struck 
with  the  narrowness  and  straightness  of  the  stroets,  and 
at  the  generally  European  look  of  everything;  ftnd  Mr. 
Thompson  told  them  that  nearly  half  the  popuhtion  of 
Buenos  Ayres  are  European.  The  number  of  people 
upon  horseback  also  surprised  our  young  travel-evs;  but 
horses  cost  only  thirty  shillings  or  two  pounds,  and  grass 
is  so  abundant  that  the  expense  of  their  food  is  next  to 
nothing;  consequently  every  one  rides — even  shepherds 
look  after  their  sheep  on  horseback.  The  horses  seemed 
very  quiet,  for  in  front  of  most  of  the  offices  the  horses 
of  the  merchants  could  be  seen  fastened  by  a  head  rope 
to  a  ring,  grooms  not  being  considered  a  necessity. 

Once  out  of  the  town,  the  riding  horses  broke  into  a 
canter;  for  the  road  was  so  good  that  the  horses  in  the 
light  carriage  were  able  to  go  along  at  full  speed.  As 
they  proceeded  they  passed  many  houses  of  the  rich 
merchants  of  the  place,  and  all  were  charmed  with  the 
luxuriance  and  beauty  of  the  gardens.  Orange  and 
lemon  trees  scented  the  air  with  their  delicious  per- 
fumes; bananas,  tree  ferns,  and  palms  towered  abova 
them;  lovely  butterflies  of  immense  size,  and  bright  little 
humming-birds,  flitted  about  among  a  countless  variety 
of  flowers.  The  delight  of  the  young  ones  was  un* 
bounded. 

Presently  they  left  the  mansions  and  gardens  behinl 
and  drove  out  fairly  into  the  country. 


26  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Upon  either  side  the  plains  stretched  away  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach,  in  some  parts  under  the  plow,  but 
far  more  generally  carpeted  with  bright  green  grass  and 
many-colored  wild  flowers.  Everywhere  could  be  seen 
droves  of  horses  and  cattle,  while  dotted  here  and  there 
over  the  plain  were  the  estancias  of  the  proprietors. 

It  was  a  most  delightful  ride.  The  horses  went  very 
quietly,  but  the  boys  found,  to  their  surprise,  that  they 
would  not  trot,  their  pace  being  a  loose,  easy  canter. 
The  last  five  miles  of  the  distance  were  not  so  enjoyable 
to  the  party  in  the  carriage,  for  the  road  had  now  become 
a  mere  track,  broken  in  many  places  into  ruts,  into 
which  the  most  careful  driving  of  Mr.  Thompson  could 
not  prevent  the  wheels  going  with  jolts  that  threatened 
to  shake  its  occupants  from  their  places,  and  they  felt  as 
if  every  bone  in  their  bodies  were  broken  by  the  time 
they  drew  up  at  their  host's  estancia. 

Here  Mrs.  Thompson  came  out  to  greet  them.  She 
had  been  a  great  friend  of  Mrs.  Hardy  in  their  young 
days,  and  great  was  their  pleasure  at  again  meeting 
after  so  long  a  separation.  Mr.  Thompson  had  already 
explained  that  his  wife  would  have  come  over  to  meet 
them,  but  that  at  the  time  he  had  left  home  it  was  not 
known  that  the  Barbadoes  had  arrived.  She  was  due, 
and,  as  a  measure  of  precaution,  the  horses  and  cart  had 
for  the  last  two  days  been  in  readiness,  but  the  exact 
date  of  her  arrival  was  of  course  uncertain. 

Mr.  Thompson's  estancia  was  a  large  and  picturesque 
building.  It  was  entirely  surrounded  by  a  wide  ve- 
randa, so  that  at  all  hours  of  the  day  relief  could  be 
obtained  from  the  glare  of  the  sun.  In  front  was  an  ex- 
tensive garden;  and  as  Mr.  Thompson  had  made  it  one 
of  his  first  objects  when  he  built  his  house  to  plant  a 
large  number  of  tropical  trees  and  shrubs,  these  had  now 
attained  a  considerable  size,  and  afforded  a  delicious 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  27 

shade.  At  a  short  distance  behind  the  house  were  the 
houses  oi  the  men,  and  the  corrals,  or  inclosures,  for  the 
cattle. 

The  interior  was  handsomely  furnished  in  the  Euro- 
pean style,  except  that  the  floors  were  uncarpeted,  and 
were  composed  of  polished  boards.  Everywhere  were 
signs  that  the  proprietor  was  a  prosperous  and  wealthy 
man.  Mr.  Thompson  had  only  one  son,  a  lad  of  about 
the  same  age  as  Charles  Hardy.  To  his  care  MrsS{ 
Thompson  now  assigned  the  boys,  while  she  conducted 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  her  daughters  to  their  rooms. 

In  half  an  hour  the  party  reassembled  at  dinner,  to 
which  they  all  did  ample  justice,  for  their  long  row  and 
ride  had  given  them  the  keenest  of  appetites.  They 
were  waited  upon  by  an  Italian  man-servant;  and  Mrs. 
Thompson  said  that  there  were  a  good  many  of  this 
nation  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  that,  although  they  were 
not  considered  good  hands  for  rough  work,  they  made 
excellent  servants,  many  of  them  having  been  waiters  in 
hotels  or  stewards  on  board  ship  before  coming  out. 

During  dinner  the  conversation  turned  chiefly  upon 
English  friends  and  affairs,  and  upon  the  events  of  the 
voyage.  After  it  was  over  George  Thompson  proposed 
to  the  boys  to  take  a  stroll  round  the  place  before  it  be- 
came dark.  The  gentlemen  lit  their  cigars  and  took 
their  seats  under  the  veranda;  and  the  two  ladies,  with 
Maud  and  Ethel,  went  out  into  the  garden.  The  con- 
versation of  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  friend  turned,  of  course, 
upon  the  country,  its  position  and  prospects,  and  upon 
the  advantage  which  the  various  districts  offered  to  new- 
comers. Presently  the  dusk  came  on,  followed  rapidly 
by  darkness,  and  in  half  an  hour  Ethel  came  to  summon 
them  to  tea.  The  boys  had  already  come  in,  and  were 
full  of  delight  at  the  immense  herds  of  cattle  they  had 
seen.  As  they  sat  down  to  the  tea-table,  covered  with 


28  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

delicate  English  china,  with  a  kettle  over  a  spirit-lanrp 
in  the  center,  and  lit  with  the  subdued  light  of  two 
shaded  moderator  lamps,  Maud  said,  "It  is  not  one  bit 
like  what  I  expected,  papa,  after  all  you  have  told  us 
about  hardships  and  working;  it  seems  just  like  Eng- 
land, except  the  trees  and  flowers  and  butterflies." 

"Do  not  be  afraid,  Maud,"  her  father  said,  laughing 
— for  her  voice  had  a  tinge  of  disappointment  in  it — 
"you  won't  be  cheated  out  of  your  hardship  and  your 
work,  I  promise  you.  Mrs.  Thompson  will  tell  you  that 
it  was  a  very  different  sort  of  place  when  she  first  came 
here." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  Mrs.  Thompson  said,  smiling;  "this 
was  considered  a  very  lonely  place  when  we  first  settled 
here.  We  had  a  little  hut  with  two  rooms,  and  it  was 
more  than  six  months  before  I  could  get  a  woman  serv- 
ant to  come  out,  and  then  it  was  only  one  of  our  shep- 
herds' wives,  who  knew  nothing  of  cooking,  and  who 
was  only  useful  in  drawing  the  water  and  sweeping  the 
floors.  In  time  the  country  became  more  settled,  and 
there  are  stations  now  sixty  or  seventy  miles  beyond  us." 

The  next  week  was  spent  in  riding  over  the  estate, 
which  consisted  of  four  square  leagues — that  is  to  say, 
was  six  miles  each  way — and  in  examining  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  inclosures  for  the  catt/e.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  Mr.  Hardy  started  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
through  the  provinces  most  likely  to  suit,  provided  with 
numerous  letters  of  introduction  from  his  host.  While 
he  was  away  the  boys  were  to  assist  upon  the  estate,  and 
to  accustom  themselves  to  the  work  and  duties  of  the 
life  they  were  to  lead.  Into  this  they  entered  with  the 
greatest  zest,  and  were  in  the  saddle  from  morning  till 
night,  getting  more  and  more  sunburnt  from  constant 
exposure,  until,  as  Mr.  Thompson  told  them,  they  looked 
like  two  young  guachos.  The  guachos  are  the  natives  of 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  20 

ttie  country.  They  are  fine-looking  men,  with  Spanish 
faces.  Their  dress  is  very  picturesque.  They  wear 
loose  oalzoncillas  or  drawers,  worked  and  fringed  round 
the  bottom.  Above  this  is  a  sort  of  shawl,  so  arranged 
that  it  has  the  effect  of  very  loose  trousers.  These 
shawls  are  generally  of  bright  colors,  woven  in  stripes, 
and  sometimes  of  black  cloth  edged  with  scarlet.  The 
white  calzoncillas  show  below  this  garment,  and  above  a 
colored  flannel  shirt  is  worn.  The  boots  are  long  and 
are  made  of  undressed  leather.  They  wear  a  broad 
leathern  belt,  with  pockets  in  it;  in  this  a  knife,  too,  is 
always  stuck.  Upon  fete  days  they  come  out  with  gay 
silver  ornaments  upon  themselves  and  their  horse- 
trappings.  Their  saddles  are  very  clumsy  and  heavy, 
and  are  seldom  used  by  Europeans,  who,  as  Mr.  Hardy 
had  done,  generally  bring  English  saddles  from  home. 
After  an  absence  of  a  month  Mr.  Hardy  returned  with 
the  welcome  news  that  he  had  made  his  choice,  and  had 
bought  at  the  public  auction  a  tract  of  four  square 
leagues,  upon  a  river  some  twenty  miles  to  the  south  of 
the  town  of  Rosario,  and  consequently  only  a  few  days' 
journey  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Mr.  Thompson  looked  a 
little  grave  when  he  heard  the  location  of  the  property, 
but  he  only  said  that  he  was  very  glad  that  his  friend 
had  fixed  upon  a  spot  which  would  make  it  easy  for  the 
families  to  see  something  of  each  other.  After  the  first 
greetings  were  over  Mr.  Hardy  proceeded  to  satisfy  the 
curiosity  of  his  hearers  as  to  the  new  property. 

"It  is  six  miles  square,"  he  said,  "that  is,  about 
twenty-five  thousand  acres,  and  I  bought  it  for  about 
sixpence  an  acre.  There  is  a  good-sized  stream  runa 
through  it;  there  are  a  good  many  trees,  considering 
that  it  is  out  on  the  Pampas;  there  are  several  elevations 
which  give  a  fine  view  over  the  plain,  and  upon  one  of 
these  our  future  home  will  stand.  A  small  stream  falla 


$0  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

into  the  larger  one,  and  will,  I  think,  be  useful.  There 
is  an  abundance  of  game;  ducks,  geese,  and  swans  swarm 
upon  the  river.  I  saw  a  good  many  ostriches  out  on  the 
plains.  And,  lastly,  the  soil  appears  to  be  excellent.  A 
great  point  is,  that  it  is  only  distant  twenty  miles  from 
Kosario,  a  most  rising  town;  so  that  the  value  of  the  land 
is  sure  to  increase  yearly,  as  new  settlers  come  around 
us." 

"That  is  a  most  important  point,"  Mr.  Thompson 
said.  "Kosario  is  the  most  rising  town  in  the  country, 
and  the  land  around  it  is  certain  to  be  very  much  sought 
after  in  a  few  years." 

"Are  there  any  settlements  near,  Frank?"  Mrs.  Hardy 
asked. 

"The  next  plot  to  ours  belongs  to  three  young  Eng- 
lishmen, and  the  ground  between  us  and  Rosario  is  also 
principally  occupied  by  English;  so  that  we  shall  have 
neighbors  near,  and  I  do  not  suppose  that  it  will  be  long 
before  we  have  them  all  round  us." 

"If  the  advantages  of  the  place  are  so  great,  Frank, 
how  is  it  that  you  have  got  it  so  very  cheaply?  I  under- 
stood from  Mr.  Thompson  that  land  in  a  rising  neighbor- 
hood, and  that  was  likely  to  increase  in  value,  was  worth 
two  or  three  shillings,  or  even  more,  an  acre." 

Mr.  Hardy  hesitated.  "Well,  Clara,  the  land  is  at 
present  upon  the  extreme  verge  of  the  settlements,  and 
the  Indians  are  apt  sometimes  to  be  a  little  troublesome, 
and  to  drive  off  a  few  horses  or  cattle.  No  doubt  the 
thing  has  been  exaggerated;  still  there  is  something  in 
it,  and  the  consequence  is,  people  are  rather  afraid  to 
bid,  and  I  have  got  this  splendid  tract  of  land  for  about 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars;  and,  not  improbably,  in  ten 
years  ft  may  be  worth  ten  times  as  much." 

"A  great  proportion  of  these  Indian  tales  are  built  up 
upon  very  small  foundations,"  Mr.  Thompson  said 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  31  \ 

cheeringly;  and  Mrs.  Hardy's  face,  which  had  been  a 
little  serious,  cleared  up  again,  and  in  listening  to  her 
husband's  account  of  his  travels,  she  forgot  all  about  the 
Indians.  The  boys,  however,  by  no  means  did  so;  and 
as  they  were  going  to  bed  Charley  said:  "I  think  there 
is  some  chance  of  a  row  with  the  Indians,  Hubert,  for  I 
noticed  that  Mr.  Thompson  looked  grave  when  papa  first 
said  where  he  had  bought  the  land.  Depend  upon  it,  we 
shall  have  some  fun  with  them  after  all."  They  would 
have  thought  it  still  more  likely  had  they  heard  the  con- 
versation between  their  father  and  Mr.  Thompson  after 
the  ladies  had  gone  to  bed. 

"Why,  my  dear  Hardy,  how  came  yon,  with  a  wife  and 
family,  to  think  of  buying  land  so  exposed  to  the  Indian 
attacks?  Every  season,  when  they  come  down,  they 
sweep  off  the  horses  and  cattle  from  the  outlying  settle- 
ments, and  murder  the  people  if  they  get  a  chance.  I 
look  upon  it  as  madness." 

"There  is  a  good  deal  in  what  you  say,  Thompson,  and 
I  thought  the  whole  matter  over  before  I  bought  it. 
There  is  a  risk — a  great  risk,  if  you  like;  but  I  hear  the 
Indians  seldom  attack  the  houses  of  the  settlers  if  they 
are  well  prepared  and  armed.  They  do  occasionally,  but 
very  seldom.  I  shall  be  well  prepared  and  well  armed, 
and  have  therefore  no  fear  at  all  for  our  personal  safety. 
As  to  our  animals,  we  must  protect  them  as  well  as  we 
can,  and  take  our  chance.  It  is  only  for  two  or  three 
years  at  most.  After  that  we  shall  have  settlements 
beyond  and  around  us;  and  if  emigration  keeps  on,  as  I 
anticipate,  and  if,  as  I  believe,  Eosario  is  to  become  a 
very  large  and  important  place,  our  land  will  eventually 
be  worth  five  dollars  an  acre,  at  the  very  lowest.  I  shall 
take  care  not  to  invest  my  whole  capital  in  animals,  so 
that  I  cannot  be  ruined  in  one  blow.  I  think  that  at 
the  end  of  five  years  you  will  agree  with  me  that  I  have 
done  wisely." 


82  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  your  property  will  increase  very 
much  in  value,  as  you  say,  Hardy,  and  that  in  the  long 
run  your  speculation  will  be  a  very  successful  one;  but 
it  is  a  terrible  risk,  I  think." 

"I  do  not  think  so,  Thompson.  We  shall  be  a  pretty 
strong  party:  we  shall  have  certainly  two  men  besides 
ourselves.  The  boys  could  bricg  down  their  man  at 
three  hundred  yards,  and  I  should  do  considerable  execu- 
tion among  a  body  of  Indians  at  six  or  seven;  so  I  have 
no  fear — not  the  least  in  the  world." 

In  another  two  days  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Thompson,  went  down  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  took  up  their  quarters  at  the  hotel  for  a  night.  At 
parting,  Mr.  Thompson  presented  them  with  a  couple  of 
tine  dogs,  which  he  had  bred  from  English  mastiffs:  Mr. 
Hardy  had  brought  a  brace  of  fine  retrievers  with  him. 
Then,  with  a  hearty  adieu  and  much  hand-shaking,  they 
said  "Good-by"  as  the  steamer  moved  off  from  the  shore. 
The  heavy  luggage  was  to  follow  in  a  sailing  vessel  upon 
the  following  day. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  3* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   PAMPAS. 

THE  voyage  up  the  river  Parana  was  marked  by  no 
particular  incident.  The  distance  to  Rosario  from 
Buenos  Ayres  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
which  was  performed  by  the  steamer  in  about  a  day  and 
a  half.  The  river  is  nearly  twenty  miles  in  breadth,  and 
is  completely  studded  by  islands.  The  scenery  is  flat 
and  uninteresting,  and  the  banks^  but  poorly  wooded. 
Our  travelers  were  therefore  glad  when  they  arrived  at 
Rosario.  The  boys  were  disappointed  at  the  aspect  of 
the  town,  which,  although  a  rising  place,  contained 
under  a  thousand  inhabitants,  and  looked  miserably  poor 
and  squalid  after  Buenos  Ayres.  Here  they  were  met  by 
a  gentleman  to  whom  Mr.  Thompson  had  introduced  Mr. 
Hardy,  and  with  whom  he  had  stayed  on  his  first  visit  to 
Rosario.  He  had  brought  horses  for  themselves,  and 
bullock  carts  for  their  luggage. 

"What!  are  these  your  boys,  Mr.  Hardy?  I  had  not 
expected  to  have  seen  such  big  fellows.  Why,  they  will 
be  men  in  no  time." 

Charley  and  Hubert  deserved  Mr.  Percy's  commen- 
dation. They  were  now  sixteen  and  fifteen  yeaj-s  old 
respectively,  and  were  remarkably  strong,well-grown  lads, 
looking  at  least  a  year  older  than  they  really  were.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  luggage  was  packed  in  two  bullock 
carts,  and  they  were  on  their  way  out  to  Mr.  Percy's  sta- 
tion, which  was  about  halfway  to  the  camp  of  Mr, 


S4  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Hardy.  The  word  camp  in  the  pampas  means  station 
or  property;  it  is  a  corruption  of  the  Spanish  word 
campos,  literally  plains  or  meadows. 

Here  they  found  that  Mr.  Percy  had  most  satisfac- 
torily performed  the  commission  with  which  Mr.  Hardy 
had  intrusted  him.  He  had  bought  a  couple  of  the 
rough  country  bullock  carts,  three  pair  of  oxen  accus- 
tomed to  the  yoke,  half  a  dozen  riding  horses,  two  milch 
cows,  and  a  score  of  sheep  and  cattle  to  supply  the 
larder.  He  had  hired  four  men — a  stock-keeper  named 
Lopez,  who  was  called  the  capitaz  or  head  man,  a  tall, 
swarthy  fellow,  whose  father  was  a  Spaniard,  and  his 
mother  a  native  woman;  two  laborers,  the  one  a  German, 
called  Hans,  who  had  been  some  time  in  the  colony,  the 
other  an  Irishman,  Terence  Kelly,  whose  face  the  boys 
remembered  at  once,  as  having  come  out  in  the  same  ship 
with  themselves.  The  last  man  was  an  American,  one  of 
those  wandering  fellows  who  are  never  contented  to 
remain  anywhere,  but  are  always  pushing  on,  as  if  they 
thought  that  the  further  they  went  the  better  they 
should  fare.  He  was  engaged  as  carpenter  and  useful 
man,  and  there  were  few  things  to  which  he  could  not 
turn  his  hand.  Mr.  Hardy  was  pleased  with  their  ap- 
pearance; they  were  all  powerful  men,  accustomed  to 
work.  Their  clothes  were  of  the  roughest  and  most  mis- 
cellaneous kind,  a  mixture  of  European  and  Indian  garb, 
with  the  exception  of  Terence,  who  still  clung  to  the 
long  blue-tailed  coat  and  brass  buttons  of  the  "ould 
country. " 

They  waited  the  next  day  at  Mr.  Percy's  station,  and 
started  the  next  morning  before  daylight,  as  they  had 
still  ten  miles  to  travel,  and  were  desirous  of  getting  as 
early  to  the  ground  as  possible. 

The  boys  were  in  the  highest  spirits  at  being  at  last 
really  out  upon  the  pampas,  and  as  day  fairly  broke 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  35 

they  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  appearance  of  their  caval- 
cade. There  was  no  road  or  track  of  any  kind,  and  con- 
sequently, instead  of  following  in  a  file,  as  they  would 
have  done  in  any  other  country,  the  party  straggled  along 
in  a  confused  body.  First  came  the  animals — the  sheep, 
bullocks,  and  cows.  Behind  these  rode  Lopez,  in  his 
guacho  dress,  and  a  long  whip  in  his  hand,  which  he 
cracked  from  time  to  time,  with  a  report  like  that  of  a 
pistol — not  that  there  was  any  difficulty  in  driving  the 
animals  at  a  pace  sufficient  to  keep  well  ahead  of  i\m 
bullock  carts,  for  the  sheep  of  the  pampas  are  very  mucb 
more  active  beasts  than  their  English  relations.  Accus- 
tomed to  feed  on  the  open  plains,  they  travel  over  a 
large  extent  of  ground,  and  their  ordinary  pace  is  four 
miles  an  hour.  When  frightened,  they  can  go  for  many 
miles  at  a  speed  which  will  tax  a  good  horse  to  keep  up 
with.  The  first  bullock  cart  was  driven  by  Hans,  who 
sat  upon  the  top  of  a  heap  of  baggage,  his  head  covered 
with  a  very  old  and  battered  Panama  hat,  through  [sev- 
eral broad  holes  in  which  his  red  hair  bristled  out  in  a 
most  comic  fashion,  and  over  his  blue  flannel  shirt  a 
large  red  beard  flowed  almost  to  his  waist.  Terence  was 
walking  by  the  side  of  th©  second  cart  in  corduroy 
breeches  and  gaiters  and  blue  coat,  with  a  high  black 
hat,  battered  and  bruised  out  of  all  shape,  on  his  head. 
In  his  hand  he  held  a  favorite  shillalah,  which  he  had 
brought  with  him  from  his  native  land,  and  with  the  end 
of  which  he  occasionally  poked  the  ribs  of  the  oxen,  with 
many  Irish  ejaculations,  which  no  doubt  alarmed  the 
animals  not  a  little.  The  Yankee  rode  sometimes  near 
one,  sometimes  by  another,  seldom  exchanging  a  word 
with  any  one.  He  wore  a  fur  cap  made  of  fox's  skin;  a 
faded  blanket,  with  a  hole  cut  in  the  middle  for  the  head 
to  go  through,  fell  from  his  shoulders  to  his  knees. 
He  and  Lopez  each  led  a  couple  of  spare  horses.  The 


*36  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

mastiffs  trotted  along  by  the  horses,  and  the  two 
fine  retrievers,  Dash  and  Flirt,  galloped  about  over  the 
plains.  The  plain  across  which  they  were  traveling  was 
ft  flat,  broken  only  by  slight  swells,  and  a  tree  here  and 
there;  and  the  young  Hardys  wondered  not  a  little  how 
Lopez,  who  acted  as  guide,  knew  the  direction  he  was  to 
take. 

After  three  hours'  riding  Lopez  pointed  to  a  rather 
larger  clump  of  trees  than  usual  in  the  distance,  and 
said,  "That  is  the  camp." 

"Hurrah,"  shouted  the  boys.  "May  we  ride  on, 
papa?" 

"Yes,  boys,  I  will  ride  on  with  you."  And  off  they 
set,  leaving  their  party  to  follow  quietly. 

"Mind  how  you  gallop,  boys;  the  ground  is  honey- 
combed with  armadillo  holes,  and  if  your  horse  treads  in 
one  you  will  go  over  his  head." 

"I  don't  think  that  I  should  do  that,"  Charley,  who 
had  a  more  than  sufficiently  good  opinion  of  himself, 
said;  "I  can  stick  on  pretty  tightly,  and — "  he  had  not 
time  to  finish  his  sentence,  for  his  horse  suddenly 
seemed  to  go  down  on  his  head,  and  Charley  was  sent 
flying  two  or  three  yards  through  the  air,  descending 
Tvith  a  heavy  thud  upon  the  soft  ground. 

He  was  up  in  a  moment,  unhurt,  except  for  a  knock 
on  the  eye  against  his  gun,  which  he  was  carrying  before 
him;  and  after  a  minute's  rueful  look  he  joined  heartily 
in  the  shouts  of  laughter  of  his  father  and  brother  at  his 
expense.  "Ah/Charley,  brag  is  a  good  dog,  but  hold- 
fast is  a  better.  I  never  saw  a  more  literal  proof  of  the 
saying.  There,  jump  up  again,  and  I  need  not  say  look 
out  for  holes." 

They  were  soon  off  again,  but  this  time  at  a  more  mod- 
erate pace.  This  fall  was  not,  by  a  very  long  way,  the 
only  one  which  they  had  before  they  had  been  six 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  37 

months  upon  the  plains;  for  the  armadillos  were  most 
abundant,  and  in  the  long  grass  it  was  impossible  to  see 
their  holes.  In  addition  to  the  armadillos,  the  ground  is 
in  many  paces  honeycombed  by  the  bischachas,  which 
somewhat  in  size  and  appearance  resemble  rabbits,  and 
by  a  little  burrowing  owl. 

The  Hardys  soon  crossed  a  little  stream,  running  east  to 
fall  into  the  main  stream,  which  formed  the  boundary  of 
the  property  upon  that  side;  and  Mr.  Hardy  told  the  boys 
that  they  were  now  upon  their  own  land.  There  was 
another  hurrah,  and  then,  regardless  of  the  risk  of  falls, 
they  dashed  up  to  the  little  clump  of  trees,  which  stood 
upon  slightly  rising  ground.  Here  they  drew  rein,  and 
looked  round  upon  the  country  which  was  to  be  their 
home.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  a  flat  plain,  with  a 
few  slight  elevations  and  some  half-dozen  trees,  ex- 
tended. The  grass  was  a  brilliant  green,  for  it  was  now 
the  month  of  September.  Winter  was  over,  and  tho 
plain,  refreshed  by  the  rains,  wore  a  bright  sheet  of 
green,  spangled  with  innumerable  flowers.  Objects  could 
be  seen  moving  in  the  distance,  and  a  short  examination 
enabled  Mr.  Hardy  to  decide  that  they  were  ostriches, 
to  the  delight  of  the  boys,  who  promised  themselves  an 
early  hunt. 

"Where  have  you  fixed  for  the  house,  papa?"  Hubert 
asked. 

"There,  where  those  three  trees  are  growing  upon  the 
highest  swell  you  can  see,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
further.  We  will  go  on  at  once;  the  others  will  see  us." 

Another  ten  minutes  took  them  to  the  place  Mr. 
Hardy  had  pointed  out,  and  the  boys  both  agreed  that 
nothing  could  be  better. 

At  the  foot  of  the  slope  the  river  which  formed  the 
eastern  boundary  flowed,  distant  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
so  from  the  top  of  the  rise.  To  the  right  another  stream 


38  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

came  down  between  the  slope  and  another  less  elevated 
rise  beyond.  This  stream  had  here  rather  a  rapid  fall, 
and  was  distant  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
intended  site  of  the  house.  The  main  river  was  thirty 
or  forty  yards  across,  and  was  now  full  of  water;  and 
upon  its  surface  the  boys  could  see  flocks  of  ducks, 
geese,  and  other  birds.  In  some  places  the  bank  was 
bare,  but  in  others  thick  clumps  of  bushes  and  brush- 
wood grew  beside  it. 

They  now  took  off  the  saddles  and  bridles  from  their 
horses,  and  allowed  them  to  range  as  they  pleased, 
knowing  that  the  native  horses  were  accustomed  to  be 
let  free,  and  that  there  was  no  fear  of  their  straying 
away.  "Now,  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "let  us  begin  by 
getting  our  first  dinner.  You  go  straight  down  to  the 
•water;  I  will  keep  to  the  right.  You  take  Dash,  I  will 
take  Flirt." 

In  another  ten  minutes  the  reports  of  the  guns  fol- 
lowed close  upon  each  other,  and  the  boys  had  the  satis- 
faction of  knocking  down  two  geese  and  eight  ducks, 
which  Dash  brought  ashore,  beside  others  which  escaped. 
In  five  minutes  more  they  hsard  a  shout  from  their 
father,  who  had  bagged  two  more  geese  and  three  ducks. 
"That  will  do,  boys;  we  have  got  plenty  for  the  next 
day  or  two,  and  we  must  not  alarm  them  by  too  much 
slaughter." 

"Four  geese  and  eleven  ducks,  papa,  in  five  minutes," 
the  boys  said,  when  they  joined  Mr.  Hardy;  "that  is  not 
bad  shooting  to  begin  with." 

"Not  at  all,  boys.  What  with  wild  fowl  and  armadil- 
los, I  think  that  at  a  pinch  we  could  live  for  some  time 
upon  the  produce  of  the  estate." 

"You  don't  mean  to  say,  papa,  that  they  eat  the 
armadillos?"  Hubert  said  with  a  look  of  suspicion. 

"They  -do^ndeed,  Hubert,  and  I  am  told  that  they  are 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  89 

not  at  all  bad  eating.  Now  let  us  go  up  to  the  rise 
again;  our  carts  must  be  nearly  up." 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  three  trees  they  found 
that  the  rest  of  the  cavalcade  was  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  came  up. 

The  cattle  and  sheep  required  no  attending.  Imme- 
diately they  found  that  they  were  not  required  to  go  any 
further,  they  scattered  and  began  to  graze.  The  oxen 
were  unyoked  from  the  carts,  and  all  hands  set-to  to 
unload  the  miscellaneous  collection  of  goods  which  had 
been  brought  up.  Only  the  things  which  Mr.  Hardy  had 
considered  as  most  indispensable  for  present  use  had 
been  brought  on,  for  the  steamer  from  Buenos  Ayres  did 
not  carry  heavy  goods,  and  the  agricultural  implements 
and  other  baggage  were  to  come  up  in  a  sailing  vessel, 
and  were  not  expected  to  arrive  for  another  week. 

The  carts  contained  three  small  portmanteaus  with 
the  clothes  of  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys,  and  a  large  case 
containing  the  carbines,  rifles,  and  ammunition.  There 
was  a  number  of  canisters  with  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  salt, 
and  pepper;  a  sack  of  flour;  some  cooking  pots  and  fry- 
ing pans,  tin  plates,  dishes,  and  mugs;  two  sacks  of  coal 
and  a  quantity  of  firewood;  shovels,  carpenter's  tools,  a 
sickle,  the  framework  of  a  hut  with  two  doors  and  win- 
dows, three  rolls  of  felt,  a  couple  of  dozen  wooden  posts, 
and  two  large  coils  of  iron  wire.  While  the  others  were 
busy  unloading  the  German  had  cut  some  turf  and  built 
a  rough  fireplace,  and  had  soon  a  bright  fire  blazing. 

"Shall  we  pluck  the  ducks?"  Charley  asked. 

"I  reckon  we  can  manage  quicker  than  that,"  the 
Yankee  said;  and  taking  up  one  of  the  ducks,  he  cut  off 
its  head  and  pinions;  in  another  minute  he  had  roughly 
skinned  it,  and  threw  it  to  the  German,  who  cut  it  up 
and  put  the  pieces  into  the  frying  pan.  A  similar 
process  was  performed  with  the  other  ducks,  a  little 


40  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

pepper  and  salt  shaken  over  them,  and  in  a  wonderfully 
short  time  the  first  batch  was  ready.  All  drew  round 
and  sat  down  on  the  grass;  the  tin  plates  were  distributed, 
but  were  only  used  by  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons,  the  others 
simply  taking  the  joints  into  their  hands  and  cutting  off 
pieces  with  their  knives.  The  operation  of  skinning  the 
fowls  had  not  been  pleasant  to  look  at,  and  would  at  any 
other  time  have  taken  away  the  boys'  appetites;  but 
their  long  ride  had  made  them  too  hungry  to  be  par- 
ticular. The  result  of  this  primitive  cooking  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  excellent;  and  after  drinking  a  mug  of 
tea  all  felt  ready  for  work. 

"What  is  to  be  done  first,  papa?" 

"The  first  thing  is  to  get  these  posts  into  the  ground, 
and  to  get  up  a  wire  fence,  so  as  to  make  an  inclosure 
for  the  animals  at  night.  We  will  put  in  five  posts  each 
side,  at  ten  yards  apart;  that  will  take  eighteen  posts. 
With  the  others  we  can  make  a  division  to  separate  the 
sheep  from  the  cattle.  Unless  we  do  this  some  of  them 
may  take  it  into  their  heads  to  start  off  in  the  night  and 
return  to  their  old  home." 

A  spot  was  soon  chosen  between  the  house  and  the 
stream  on  the  right.  The  distance  was  soon  measured 
and  marked;  and  while  Hans  carried  down  the  heavy 
posts  one  by  one  on  his  shoulder,  the  others  went  to 
work.  The  soil  was  soft  and  rich,  and  the  holes  were 
dug  to  the  required  depth  in  a  shorter  time  than  would 
have  been  considered  possible.  The  wire  was  stretched 
and  fastened,  and  before  sunset  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness. The  animals  were  driven  in,  and  the  entrance, 
which  was  narrow,  was  blocked  up  with  brushwood  from 
the  river.  Then  followed  another  half-hour's  work  in 
getting  up  a  small  shelter  with  the  cases  and  some  of  the 
felting,  for  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons.  By  this  time  all 
were  really  tired,  and  were  glad  when  Hans  summoned 


OWT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  41 

them  to  another  meal,  this  time  of  one  of  the  sheep. 
Then  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys,  taking  their  mugs  of  tea, 
retired  into  the  shelter  prepared  for  them,  and  sat  and 
talked  over  the  events  of  the  day,  and  as  to  the  work  for 
to-morrow;  and  then,  wrapping  themselves  up  in  their 
blankets,  lay  down  to  sleep,  listening  for  some  time 
dreamily  to  the  hum  of  conversation  of  the  men,  who 
were  sitting  smoking  round  the  fire,  and  to  the  hoarsa 
roar  of  the  innumerable  frogs  in  the  stream  below. 

In  the  morning  they  were  up  and  abroad  with  day- 
light, and  a  cup  of  hot  coffee  and  a  piece  of  bread  pre- 
pared them  for  work.  Mr.  Hardy,  his  boys,  and  the 
Yankee  set-to  upon  the  framework  of  the  two  huts; 
while  the  others  went  down  to  the  stream  and  cut  a 
quantity  of  long,  coarse  rushes,  which  they  made  into 
bundles,  and  brought  up  to  the  place  of  the  house  in  a 
bullock  cart.  The  framework  for  the  huts,  which  were 
each  about  fifteen  feet  square,  was  all  ready  fitted  and 
numbered:  it  took,  therefore,  a  very  short  time  to  erect; 
and  when  one  was  done  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  Yankee  set- 
to  to  erect  the  other  at  a  distance  of  from  forty  to  fifty 
yards,  while  Charley  and  Hubert  drove  in  the  nails  and 
secured  the  work  already  done. 

By  dinner-time  the  work  was  complete,  and  a  perfect 
stack  of  rushes  had  been  raised  in  readiness.  A  great 
number  of  long  rods  had  been  cut  from  the  bushes,  and 
as  the  most  of  them  were  as  flexible  and  tough  as  wil- 
lows they  were  well  suited  for  the  purpose. 

After  dinner  the  whole  party  united  their  labor  to  get 
one  of  the  huts  finished.  The  rods  were  split  in  two, 
and  were  nailed  at  intervals  across  the  rafters  of  the 
roof.  Upon  them  the  long  rushes  were  laid,  and  over  all 
the  felt  was  nailed.  The  sides  were  treated  in  the  same 
way,  except  that  the  rushes  were  woven  in  and  out  be- 
tween the  wattles,  so  as  to  make  quite  a  close,  compact 


42  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

wall,  no  felt  being  nailed  on  it.  The  other  house  was 
treated  in  the  same  way;  and  it  was  not  until  the  third 
night  that  both  huts  were  finished  and  ready  for  occu- 
pancy. 

Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons  then  took  possession  of  the 
one  near  the  brow  of  the  hill.  This  was  to  be  merely  a 
temporary  abode,  to  be  removed  when  the  house  was 
built.  The  men  had  that  lower  down,  and  rather  nearer 
to  the  cattle.  Beds  of  rushes  were  piled  up  in  three 
corners,  and  the  boys  thought  that  they  had  never  passed 
such  a  delicious  night  as  their  first  in  their  new  house. 
The  next  day  Mr.  Hardy  told  his  boys  that  they  should 
take  a  holiday  and  ride  over  the  place. 

The  press  of  work  was  over,  and  things  would  now 
settle  down  in  a  regular  way.  Hans  and  Terence  had 
taken  a  contract  to  dig  the  holes  for  the  posts  of  the 
strong  fence  which  was  to  surround  the  house,  including 
a  space  of  a  hundred  yards  square.  This  precaution  was 
considered  to  be  indispensable  as  a  defense  against  the 
Indians.  Seth,  the  Yankee,  had  similarly  engaged  to 
dig  a  well  close  to  the  house.  No  supervision  of  them 
was  therefore  necessary.  Lopez  was  to  accompany  them. 
Each  took  a  double-barreled  gun  and  a  revolver.  The 
day  was  very  fine — about  as  hot  as  upon  a  warm  day  in 
June  in  England.  Mr.  Hardy  proposed  that  they  should 
first  ride  westerly  as  far  as  the  property  extended,  six 
miles  from  the  river;  that  they  should  then  go  to  the 
south  until  they  reached  that  boundary,  and  should  fol- 
low that  to  the  river,  by  whose  banks  they  should  return, 
and  bring  back  a  bag  of  wild  fowl  for  the  larder.  Quite 
a  pack  of  dogs  accompanied  them — the  two  mastiffs,  the 
setters,  and  four  dogs,  two  of  which  belonged  to  Lopez, 
and  the  others  to  Hans  and  Seth:  these  last,  seeing  that 
their  masters  had  no  intention  of  going  out,  determined 
to  join  the  party  upon  their  own  account. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  43 

These  dogs  were  all  mongrels  of  no  particular  breed, 
but  were  useful  in  hunting,  and  were  ready  to  attack  a 
fox,  an  animal  which  swarms  upon  the  pampas,  and  does 
great  damage  among  the  young  lambs. 

For  the  first  three  or  four  miles  nothing  was  seen  save 
the  boundless  green  plain,  extending  in  all  directions; 
and  then,  upon  ascending  a  slight  rise,  they  saw  in  the 
dip  before  them  two  ostriches.  Almost  simultaneously 
the  creatures  caught  sight  of  their  enemies,  and  went  off 
at  a  prodigious  rate,  followed  by  the  dogs  and  horsemen. 
For  a  time  their  pace  was  so  fast  that  their  pursuers 
gained  but  little  upon  them.  Presently,  however,  the 
dogs  gained  upon  one  of  them,  and,  by  their  barking  and 
snapping  at  it,  impeded  its  movements.  The  horsemen 
were  close  together,  and  the  boys  had  drawn  out  their 
revolvers  to  fire,  when  their  father  cried,  "Don't  fire, 
boys!  Watch  Lopez." 

At  this  moment  the  guacho  took  from  the  pommel  of 
his  saddle  two  balls  like  large  bullets,  connected  with  a 
long  cord.  These  he  whirled  round  his  head,  and 
launched  them  at  the  ostrich.  They  struck  his  legs,  and 
twined  themselves  round  and  round,  and  in  another 
moment  the  bird  was  down  in  the  dust.  Before  Lopez 
could  leap  to  the  ground  the  dogs  had  killed  it,  and  the 
guacho  pulled  out  the  tail  feathers  and  handed  them  to 
Mr.  Hardy.  "Is  the  flesh  good?"  Mr.  Hardy  asked. 

"No,  seflor;  we  can  eat  it  when  there  is  nothing  else 
to  be  had,  but  it  is  not  good." 

"I  am  rather  glad  the  other  got  away,"  Hubert  said. 
"It  seems  cruel  to  kill  them  merely  for  the  sake  of  the 
feathers." 

"Yes,  Hubert;  but  the  feathers  are  really  worth 
money,"  Mr.  Hardy  said.  "I  should  be  the  last  person 
to  countenance  the  killing  of  anything  merely  for  the 
sake  of  killing;  but  one  kills  an  ostrich  as  one  would  an, 
animal  with  valuable  fur.  But  what  is  that?" 


44:  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

As  he  spoke  the  dogs  halted  in  front  of  a  patch  of 
"bush,  barking  loudly.  The  retrievers  and  the  native 
dogs  kept  at  a  prudent  distance,  making  the  most  furious 
uproar;  but  the  mastiffs  approached  slowly,  with  their 
coats  bristling  up,  and  evidently  prepared  for  a  contest 
'with  a  formidable  antagonist.  "It  must  be  a  lion!" 
Ziopez  exclaimed.  "Get  ready  your  revolvers,  or  he  may 
injure  the  dogs." 

The  warning  came  too  late.  In  another  instant  an 
animal  leaped  from  the  thicket,  alighting  immediately  in 
front  of  Prince  and  Flora.  It  was  as  nearly  as  possible 
the  same  color  as  the  mastiffs,  and  perhaps  hardly  stood 
BO  high;  but  he  was  a  much  heaver  animal,  and  longer  in 
the  back.  The  dogs  sprang  upon  it.  Prince,  who  was 
first,  received  a  blow  with  its  paw,  which  struck  him 
down;  but  Flora  had  caught  hold.  Prince  in  an  instant 
joined  her,  and  the  three  were  immediately  rolling  over 
and  over  on  the  ground  in  a  confused  mass.  Mr.  Hardy 
and  Lopez  at  once  leaped  from  their  horses  and  rushed 
to  the  spot;  and  the  former,  seizing  his  opportunity, 
placed  his  pistol  close  to  the  lion's  ear,  and  terminated 
the  contest  in  an  instant.  The  animal  killed  was  a 
puma,  called  in  South  America  a  lion;  which  animal, 
however,  he  resembles  more  in  his  color  than  in  other 
respects.  He  has  no  mane,  and  is  much  inferior  in 
power  to  the  African  lion.  They  seldom  attack  men; 
Tsut  if  assailed  are  very  formidable  antagonists.  The 
present  one  was,  Lopez  asserted,  a  remarkably  large  one. 

Mr.  Hardy's  first  care  was  to  examine  the  dogs. 
Prince's  shoulder  was  laid  open  by  the  stroke  of  the 
claws,  and  both  dogs  had  numerous  scratches.  Flora 
had  fortunately  seized  him  by  the  neck,  and  he  had  thus 
been  unable  to  use  his  teeth. 

Mr.  Hardy  determined  to  return  home  at  once,  in 
order  to  dress  Prince's  shoulder;  and  leaving  Lopez  to 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  45 

ekin  the  puma,  the  rest  took  their  way  back.  When 
they  arrived  the  wounds  of  the  dogs  were  carefully 
washed,  and  a  wet  bandage  was  fastened  with  some 
difficulty  upon  Prince's  wound.  Leaving  all  the  dogs 
behind,  with  the  exception  of  the  retrievers,  Mr.  Hardy 
and  the  boys  started  for  a  walk  along  the  river,  leading 
with  them  a  horse  to  bring  back  the  game,  as  their 
former  experience  had  taught  them  that  carrying  half  a 
dozen  ducks  and  geese  under  a  broiling  sun  was  no  joke. 
They  were  longer  this  time  than  before  in  making  a  good 
bag;  and  after-experience  taught  them  that  early  in  the 
morning  or  late  in  the  evening  was  the  time  to  go  down 
to  the  stream,  for  at  these  times  flights  of  birds  were  con- 
stantly approaching,  and  they  could  always  rely  upon 
coming  home  laden  after  an  hour's  shooting.  Upon  the 
present  occasion,  however,  they  did  not  do  badly,  but  re- 
turned with  a  swan,  three  geese,  and  twelve  ducks,  just 
in  time  to  find  the  men  preparing  for  dinner. 

The  next  morning  the  two  bullock  carts  were  sent  off 
with  Hans  and  Terence  to  Kosario,  to  fetch  the  posts  for 
the  fence,  together  with  two  more  coils  of  wire,  which 
had  been  left  there  from  want  of  room  in  the  carts  when 
they  came  up.  Charley  was  sent  with  them,  in  order 
that  he  might  find  out  if  the  sailing  vessel  had  arrived 
with  the  plows  and  heavy  baggage.  While  he  was 
away,  Mr.  Hardy  and  Hubert  were  occupied  in  making  a 
complete  exploration  of  the  property,  and  in  erecting  a 
storehouse  for  the  goods. 

In  five  days  Charley  returned  with  the  carts  he  had 
taken,  and  with  four  others  which  he  had  hired  at 
Eosario,  bringing  the  heavy  baggage,  which  had  come  in 
the  day  after  he  had  arrived  there.  The  goods  were 
placed  for  the  present  in  the  new  store,  and  then  all 
hands  set  to  work  at  the  fence.  Hans  and  Terence  had 
already  dug  the  holes;  and  the  putting  in  the  posts. 


46  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS 

ramming  the  earth  tightly  round  them,  and  stretching 
the  wires,  took  them  two  days. 

The  usual  defense  in  the  outlying  settlements  against 
Indians  is  a  ditch  six  feet  wide  and  as  much  deep;  but  a 
ditch  of  this  width  can  be  easily  leaped,  both  by  men  ou 
horseback  and  on  foot.  The  ditch,  too,  would  itself 
serve  as  a  shelter,  as  active  men  could  have  no  difficulty 
in  getting  out  of  it,  and  could  surround  the  house  by 
creeping  along  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  then  openly 
attack  all  round  at  once,  or  crawl  up  unperceived  by 
those  who  were  upon  the  watch  on  the  other  side. 

The  fence  had  none  of  these  disadvantages.  It  was  six 
feet  high.  The  wires  were  placed  at  six  inches  apart  for 
four  feet  from  the  bottom,  and  at  nine  inches  above  that. 
Then  the  upper  wires  were  not  stretched  quite  so  tightly 
as  the  lower  ones,  rendering  it  extremely  difficult  to 
climb  over.  In  this  way  an  attacking  party  would  have 
no  protection  whatever,  and  would,  while  endeavoring 
to  climb  the  fence,  be  helplessly  exposed  to  the  fire  of 
those  in  the  house.  Those  who  got  over,  too,  could  re- 
ceive no  assistance  from  their  comrades  without,  while 
their  retreat  would  be  completely  cut  off. 

The  gateway  to  the  fence  was  an  ordinary  strong  iron 
gate  which  Mr.  Hardy  kad  bought  at  Eosario,  and  to 
which  strong  pointed  palings,  six  feet  long,  were  lashed 
side  by  side,  with  intervals  of  six  inches  between  them. 
This  was  the  finishing  touch  to  the  fortification;  and  all 
felt  when  it  was  done  that  they  could  withstand  the 
attack  of  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians. 

The  carts  were  again  sent  off  to  Eosario  to  bring  back 
some  more  wood,  from  which  to  make  the  framework  of 
the  house.  Hubert  this  time  accompanied  them,  as  Mr. 
Hardy  wished  the  boys  to  become  as  self-reliant  as  pos- 
sible. He  was  also  to  hire  three  peons,  or  native 
laborers. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  47 

Before  h&  started  the  plan  of  the  future  house  was 
discussed  and  agreed  upon.  In  the  middle  was  to  be  the 
general  sitting-room,  fifteen  feet  square;  upon  one  side 
was  the  kitchen,  fifteen  by  ten  and  a  half;  upon  the 
other,  the  servants'  bedroom,  of  the  same  size;  behind 
were  three  bedrooms,  twelve  feet  by  fifteen  each,  all 
opening  from  the  sitting-room.  The  house,  therefore, 
was  to  form  a  block  thirty-six  feet  by  thirty. 

Upon  the  side  next  to  the  kitchen,  and  opening  from 
it,  a  small  square  tower  with  two  stories  in  it  was  to 
stand.  It  was  to  be  ten  feet  square;  the  lower  room  to 
be  a  laundry  and  scullery,  and  the  one  above,  approached 
by  straight  wooden  steps,  to  be  the  storehouse.  The 
roof  was  to  be  flat,  with  a  parapet  three  feet  high.  From 
this  a  clear  view  could  be  had  over  the  country  for  miles, 
and  the  whole  circuit  of  the  fence  commanded  in  case  of 
attack.  The  walls  of  the  house  were  to  be  of  adobe  or 
mud,  the  internal  partitions  of  sun-baked  bricks. 


OUT  OiV  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  SETTLER'S  HOME. 

JUST  before  commencing  the  house  Mr.  Hardy  heard 
that  a  sale  of  stock  was  to  take  place  at  an  estancia  about 
twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  Rosario,  in  consequence  of 
the  death  of  its  owner.  He  therefore  took  Lopez  and 
the  newly  hired  peons,  and  started.  He  was  likely  to  be 
away  five  days.  The  boys  were  to  do  what  work  they 
judged  best  in  his  absence.  They  determined  to  set 
about  brick-making.  Fortunately,  Hans  was  accus- 
tomed to  the  work  and  knew  the  way  that  the  natives  of 
the  country  set  about  it;  the  American,  Seth,  knew 
nothing  about  it,  but  he  was  always  willing  to  turn  hia 
Land  to  anything.  First,  a  piece  of  ground  was  cleared 
of  grass,  and  was  leveled  for  the  reception  of  the  bricks 
when  made;  then  some  planks  were  knocked  together  so 
as  to  form  a  rough  table.  Two  brick  molds  were  made, 
these  being  larger  than  those  used  in  England.  A  piece 
of  ground  was  chosen  near.  The  turf  was  taken  off,  the 
soil  was  dug  up,  and  the  peons  drove  the  bullocks  round 
and  round  upon  it,  trampling  it  into  a  thick  mud,  some 
water  being  thrown  in  when  necessary. 

As  it  was  sufficiently  trampled  Terence  carried  it  in  a 
trough  and  emptied  it  on  to  the  table  close  by,  where 
Hans  and  Seth  fashioned  it  in  the  molds,  turning  the 
bricks  out  on  to  a  plank  a  foot  wide  and  six  feet  long. 
When  this  was  full  the  boys  took  each  an  end  and  car- 
ried it  off  to  the  prepared  ground,  where  they  carefully 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  49 

removed  the  bricks  with  two  little  slabs  of  wood,  and 
placed  them  on  the  ground  to  dry,  returning  with  the 
empty  plank  to  find  another  one  filled  for  them.  It  was 
hard  work  for  all,  and  from  eleven  until  three  the  heat 
v/as  too  great  to  allow  them  to  work  at  it;  but  they  began 
with  daylight,  and  taking  a  nap  during  the  heat  of  the 
day,  were  ready  to  work  on  again  as  long  as  it  was  light. 

The  bricks  were,  of  course,  to  be  dried  by  the  sun,  as 
fuel  was  too  scarce  for  them  to  think  of  burning  them; 
but  this  was  of  little  consequence,  especially  as  they  were 
to  be  used  indoors,  the  heat  of  the  sun  being  quite  suffi- 
cient to  make  very  fair  bricks  without  the  use  of  fire. 

By  the  afternoon  of  the  fifth  day  they  had  made  a 
quantity  of  bricks  which  would,  they  calculated,  be 
ample  for  the  construction  of  the  partition  walls  of  their 
house. 

The  boys  had  just  deposited  the  last  brick  upon  the 
drying  ground,  and  were  moving  away,  when  Hubert 
cried,  "Stop,  Charley,  don't  move  a  step." 

Startled  by  the  suddenness  and  sharpness  of  the  cry, 
Charley  stood  without  moving,  and  was  surprised  to  see 
his  brother  pick  up  one  of  the  wet  bricks  in  both  hands, 
and  dash  it  upon  the  ground  immediately  in  front  of 
where  they  were  walking. 

"I've  killed  him!"  Hubert  cried  triumphantly;  and 
Charley,  looking  down,  saw  a  snake  of  about  three  feet 
long  writhing  in  the  grass,  his  head  being  completely 
driven  into  the  ground  under  the  force  of  the  lump  of 
wet  clay.  Two  or  three  stamps  of  their  heavy  boots 
completed  the  work.  And  the  men  coming  up  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  Hans  said  that  Charley,  who  would 
have  trodden  upon  the  reptile  in  another  instant  had  not 
his  brother  called  out,  had  had  a  very  narrow  escape,  for 
that  the  snake  was  the  vivora  de  la  crux,  so  called  from 
a  mark  like  a  cross  upon  his  head,  and  that  his  bite  waa 
almost  always  mortal. 


50  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

It  was  a  pretty  snake,  with  bands  of  red,  white,  and 
black  upon  his  body.  Charley  grew  very  pale  at  the 
thought  of  the  narrow  escape  he  had  had,  and  wrung  his 
brother  very  hard  by  the  hand;  while  Hubert  was  half- 
inclined  to  cry  at  the  thoughts  of  what  might  have 
happened. 

The  sun  was  just  setting  when  they  saw  a  crowd  of 
objects  in  the  distance;  and  the  boys  at  once  saddled 
their  horses  and  rode  off,  to  meet  their  father  and  to 
assist  to  drive  in  the  animals.  They  found,  upon  reach- 
ing him,  that  he  had  bought  a  thousand  sheep,  fifty 
cattle,  and  twenty  horses;  three  of  these  last  being  re- 
markably well  bred,  and  fast,  and  bought  specially  for 
their  own  riding.  Upon  their  arrival  at  the  house  the 
sheep  were  turned  into  the  inclosure,  the  horses  were 
picketed,  and  the  cattle  left  to  roam  at  their  will,  as  it 
was  not  thought  probable  that  they  would  attempt  to 
return  to  their  distant  homes,  especially  after  two  days' 
fatiguing  march. 

Mr.  Hardy  was  very  much  pleased  at  the  sight  of  the 
long  rows  of  bricks  lying  in  front  of  the  house,  and  gave 
great  credit  to  all  for  the  amount  of  work  which,  had 
been  done  during  his  few  days'  absence.  The  next 
morning  he  assigned  to  every  one  their  share  of  the 
future  work.  Lopez  and  one  of  the  peons  went  out  with 
the  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  After  a  time  it  would  not 
be  necessary  to  have  two  men  employed  for  this  work,  as 
the  cattle  and  horses,  when  they  once  became  accustomed 
to  their  new  home,  would  never  wander  very  far. 
Charley,  Hubert,  and  Terence  were  to  take  three  yoke  of 
oxen  and  the  three  plows,  and  to  commence  to  get  the 
land  in  order  for  cultivation;  the  ground  selected  as  a 
beginning  being  that  lying  below  the  house  near  the 
river.  Mr.  Hardy,  Hans,  and  the  two  peons  were  to 
work  at  the  house,  and  Seth  was  to  finish  the  well, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  51 

•which,  although  begun,  had  been  stopped  during  the 
press  of  more  urgent  work,  and  the  water  required  had 
been  fetched  from  the  stream  in  a  barrel  placed  in  a 
bullock  cart.  The  way  in  which  adobe  or  mud  houses 
are  constructed  is  as  follows:  The  mud  is  prepared  as 
for  brick-making;  but  instead  of  being  made  into  bricks, 
it  is  made  at  once  into  the  wall.  The  foundation  having 
been  dug  out  and  leveled,  two  boards  are  placed  on  edge 
eighteen  inches  or  two  feet  apart.  These  are  kept  in 
their  places  by  two  pieces  of  wood  nailed  across  them. 
The  space  between  these  boards  is  filled  with  mud,  in 
which  chopped  hay  and  rushes  have  been  mixed  to  bind 
it  together.  The  boards  are  left  for  a  day  or  two,  while 
the  builders  proceed  with  the  other  part  of  the  wall. 
They  are  then  taken  off,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  soon 
dries  the  wall  into  a  mass  almost  as  hard  as  a  brick.  The 
boards  are  then  put  on  again  higher  up,  and  the  process 
repeated  until  the  walls  have  gained  the  desired  height. 

In  a  fortnight's  time  the  walls  were  finished,  and  the 
bullock  carts  were  dispatched  to  Rosario  to  fetch  lime, 
as  Mr.  Hardy  had  determined  to  plaster  the  inside  "walls 
to  keep  in  the  dust,  which  is  otherwise  continually  com- 
ing off  mud  walls.  By  this  time  a  considerable  extent  of 
land  was  plowed  up,  and  this  was  now  planted  with 
maize,  yam  or  sweet  potato,  and  pumpkins:  a  small 
portion,  as  an  experiment,  was  also  planted  with  potato 
seeds,  but  the  climate  is  almost  too  warm  for  the  potato 
to  thrive. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  carts  with  the  lime  the  parti- 
tion walls  were  built  with  the  bricks.  The  walls  finished, 
all  hands  went  to  work  at  the  roof.  This  Mr.  Hardy  had 
intended  to  have  had  regularly  thatched;  but  during  his 
last  visit  to  Rosario  he  had  heard  that  the  Indians  fre- 
quently endeavored  in  their  attacks  to  set  fire  to  the  roofs, 
and  he  therefore  determined  to  use  tiles.  The  carts  had 


£g  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

to  make  two  journeys  to  Rosario  to  get  sufficient  tiles 
and  lath.  But  at  last  all  was  finished;  the  walls  were 
plastered  inside  and  whitewashed  out;  the  floor  was 
leveled,  beaten  down  hard,  and  covered  with  a  mixture 
of  clay  and  lime,  which  hardened  into  a  firm,  level  floor. 

It  was  exactly  two  months  from  the  date  of  their 
arrival  at  the  farm  that  the  doors  were  hung  and  the 
finishing  touch  put  to  the  house,  and  very  pleased  were 
they  all  as  they  gave  three  cheers  for  their  new  abode. 
The  tower,  they  all  agreed,  was  an  especial  feature.  It 
was  built  of  adobe  up  to  the  height  of  the  other  walls, 
but  the  upper  story  had  been  built  of  bricks  two  thick 
and  laid  in  mortar.  The  top  had  been  embattled;  and 
the  boys  laughed,  and  said  the  house  looked  exactly  like 
a  little  dissenting  chapel  at  home. 

It  was  a  joyful  day  when  a  fire  was  first  lighted  iu 
the  kitchen  chimney,  which,  with  that  in  the  sitting- 
room,  was  lined  with  bricks;  and  the  whole  party  sat 
down  to  a  dinner  of  mutton  and  wild  fowl  of  three  or 
four  sorts. 

The  same  evening  Mr.  Hardy  told  the  boys  that  he 
should  start  the  next  day  to  bring  up  their  mamma  and 
the  girls,  who  were  all  getting  very  impatient  indeed  to 
be  out  upon  the  pampas.  He  explained  to  them  that  he 
should  bring  up  iron  bedsteads  with  bedding,  but  that  he 
relied  upon  them  to  increase  their  stock  of  tables  and 
benches,  and  to  put  up  shelves,  which  would  do  until 
regular  cupboards  and  closets  could  be  made.  Mr. 
Hardy  thought  that  he  should  not  be  away  much  more 
than  a  week,  as,  by  making  a  long  ride  to  Rosario  the 
next  day  he  should  catch  the  boat,  which  left  the  follow- 
ing morning  for  Buenos  Ayres;  and  as  he  had  already 
written  to  Mr.  Thompson  saying  when  he  should  prob- 
ably arrive,  there  would  be  no  time  lost.  The  next 
morning  he  started  before  daylight,  the  last  words  of  tho 


0 UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  53 

boys  being:  "Be  sure,  papa,  to  bring  the  mosquito  cur- 
tains for  us  all;  they  are  getting  worse  and  worse.  We 
hardly  closed  an  eye  all  last  night." 

Hot  as  the  weather  now  was,  the  boys  worked  inces- 
santly at  their  carpentering  for  the  next  week,  and  at  the 
end  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  large  table  for  din- 
ing at  in  the  sitting-room,  and  a  small  one  to  act  as  a 
sideboard,  two  long  benches,  and  two  short  ones.  In 
their  mother  and  sisters'  rooms  there  were  a  table  and 
two  benches,  and  a  table  and  a  long  flap  to  serve  as  a 
dresser  in  the  kitchen.  They  had  also  put  up  two  long 
shelves  in  each  of  the  bedrooms,  and  some  nails  on  the 
doors  for  dresses.  They  were  very  tired  at  the  end  of 
the  week,  but  they  looked  round  with  a  satisfied  look, 
for  they  knew  they  had  done  their  best.  The  next 
morning  they  were  to  ride  to  Rosario  to  meet  the  party. 
The  carts  had  gone  off  under  the  charge  of  Terence  that 
day. 

It  was  indeed  a  joyful  meeting  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hardy  and  the  girls  stepped  off  the  steamer;  but  the 
first  embrace  was  scarcely  over  when  the  boys  exclaimed 
simultaneously,  "Why,  girls,  what  is  the  matter  with 
your  faces?  I  should  not  have  known  you." 

"Oh,  it's  those  dreadful  mosquitoes;  there  were  millions 
on  board  the  steamer  last  night.  I  really  thought  we 
should  have  been  eaten  up.  Didn't  you,  mamma  ?" 

"Well,  my  dear,  I  thought  that  they  would  perhaps 
leave  something  of  us  till  morning,  but  I  felt  almost 
inclined  to  go  mad  and  jump  overboard.  It  was  a  dread- 
ful night.  I  do  hope  they  are  not  so  bad  here,  Frank?" 

"No,  Clara,  they  are  nothing  like  so  bad  as  they  were 
last  night;  but  still,  as  we  are  so  close  to  the  river,  they 
•will,  no  doubt,  be  troublesome,  and  I  question  whether  the 
beds  at  the  hotel  have  mosquito  curtains;  but  if  you  take 
my  advice,  and  all  sleep  with  the  sheet  over  your  heads, 


54  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

you  will  manage  to  do  pretty  well.  It  is  better  to  be  hot 
than  to  be  bitten  all  over." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  expedient  of  the  sheets,  all 
the  party  passed  a  bad  night,  and  were  quite  ready  to 
get  up  before  daylight  to  start  for  their  ride  to  Mr. 
Percy's  estancia.  They  were  all  to  ride,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Sarah,  who  took  her  place  in  one  of  the  bullock 
carts;  and  they  would  therefore  reach  the  estancia  before 
the  heat  of  the  day  fairly  set  in.  Terence  having  been 
told  that  Sarah  was  going  to  ride,  had  cut  some  boughs, 
with  which  he  made  a  sort  of  arbor  over  the  cart  to  shade 
her  from  the  sun — a  general  method  of  the  country,  and 
at  which  Sarah  was  much  gratified.  She  had  at  first  felt 
rather  anxious  at  the  thought  of  going  without  her  mis- 
tress; but  Terence  assured  her:  "Sure,  miss,  and  it's 
meself,  Terence  Kelly,  that  will  take  care  of  ye;  and  no 
danger  shall  come  near  your  pretty  face  at  all,  at  all; 
ye'll  be  quite  as  safe  as  if  ye  were  in  the  aulcl  country. 
And  as  for  the  bastes,  sure  and  it's  the  quietest  bastes 
they  are,  and  niver  thought  of  running  away  since  the 
day  they  were  born." 

So  Sarah  took  her  place  without  uneasiness,  and  the 
others  started  at  a  hand  canter  for  Mr.  Percy's  estancia. 

While  at  Mr.  Thompson's  both  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the 
girls  had  ridden  regularly  every  day,  so  that  all  were 
quite  at  their  ease  on  their  horses,  and  were  able  to  talk 
away  without  ceasing  of  all  that  had  happened  since 
they  parted.  The  only  caution  Mr.  Hardy  had  to  give, 
with  a  side  look  at  Charley,  was,  "Look  out  for  armadillo 
holes;  because  I  have  known  fellows  who  were  wonder- 
ful at  sticking  on  their  horses  come  to  grief  at  them." 

At  which  Hubert  laughed;  and  Charley  said,  "Oh, 
papa!"  and  colored  up  and  laughed,  as  was  his  way 
when  his  father  joked  him  about  his  little  weaknesses. 

They  had  not  gone  more  than  halfway  before  they 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  55 

met  Mr.  Percy,  who  had  ridden  thus  far  to  welcome  his 
guests,  for  English  ladies  are  very  scarce  out  on  the 
pampas,  and  are  honored  accordingly.  One  of  the  first 
questions  the  girls  asked  after  the  first  greetings  were 
over  was,  "Have  you  many  mosquitoes  at  your  estancia, 
Mr.  Percy?" 

"Not  many,"  Mr.  Percy  said;  "I  have  no  stream  near, 
and  it  is  only  near  water  that  they  are  so  very  bad." 

After  waiting  during  the  heat  of  the  day  at  Mr. 
Percy's,  the  boys  rode  on  home,  as  six  guests  were  alto- 
gether beyond  Mr.  Percy's  power  of  accommodating. 

The  next  morning  the  boys  were  up  long  before  day- 
light, and  went  down  to  the  stream,  where,  as  day  broke, 
they  managed  to  shoot  a  swan  and  five  wild  ducks,  and 
with  these  they  returned  to  the  house.  Then  they 
swept  the  place  with  the  greatest  care,  spread  the  table, 
arranged  the  benches,  set  everything  off  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, and  then  devoted  their  whole  energies  to  cook- 
ing a  very  excellent  breakfast,  which  they  were  sure  the 
travelers  would  be  ready  for  upon  their  arrival.  This 
was  just  ready,  when,  from  the  lookout  on  the  tower, 
they  saw  the  party  approaching.  The  breakfast  was  too 
important  to  be  left,  and  they  were  therefore  unable  to 
ride  out  to  meet  them.  They  were  at  the  gate,  however, 
as  they  rode  up. 

"Hurrah,  hurrah!"  they  shouted,  and  the  girls  set  up 
a  cheer  in  return. 

The  men  ran  up  to  take  the  horses,  and  in  another 
minute  the  whole  party  were  in  their  new  home.  The 
girls  raced  everywhere  wild  with  delight,  ascended  to 
the  lookout,  clapped  their  hands  at  the  sight  of  the  sheep 
and  cattle,  and  could  hardly  be  persuaded  to  take  their 
things  off  and  sit  down  to  breakfast. 

Mrs.  Hardy  was  less  loud  in  her  commendation  of 
everything,  but  she  was  greatly  pleased  with  her  new 


66  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

home,  which  was  very  much  more  finished  and  com* 
fortable  than  she  had  expected. 

"This  is  fun,  mamma,  isn't  it?"  Maud  said.  "It  is 
just  like  a  picnic.  How  we  shall  enjoy  it,  to  be  snrel 
May  we  set-to  at  once  after  breakfast,  and  wash  up?" 

"Certainly,  Maud;  Sarah  will  not  be  here  for  another 
two  hours,  and  it  is  as  well  that  you  should  begin  to 
make  yourselves  useful  at  once.  We  shall  all  have  to  be 
upon  our  mettle,  too.  See  how  nicely  the  boys  have 
cooked  the  breakfast.  These  spatch-cock  ducks  are 
excellent,  and  the  mutton  chops  done  to  a  turn.  They 
will  have  a  great  laugh  at  us,  if  we,  the  professed  cooks, 
do  not  do  at  least  as  well." 

"Ah,  but  look  at  the  practice  they  have  been  having, 
mamma." 

"Yes,  Maud,"  Hubert  said;  "and  I  can  tell  you  it  is 
only  two  or  three  things  we  can  do  well.  Ducks  and 
geese  done  like  this,  and  chops  and  steaks,  are  about  the 
limits.  If  we  tried  anything  else,  we  made  an  awful 
mess  of  it:  as  to  puddings,  we  never  attempted  them; 
and  shall  be  very  glad  of  something  in  the  way  of  bread, 
for  we  are  heartily  sick  of  these  flat,  flabby  cakes." 

"Why  have  you  only  whitewashed  this  high  middle 
wall  halfway  up,  Frank?" 

"In  the  first  place,  my  dear,  we  fell  short  of  white- 
wash; and,  in  the  next  place,  we  are  going  to  set  to  work 
at  once  to  put  a  few  light  rafters  across,  and  to  nail  felt 
below  them,  and  whitewash  it  so  as  to  make  a  ceiling. 
It  will  make  the  rooms  look  less  bare,  and,  what  is  much 
more  important,  it  will  make  them  a  great  deal  cooler." 

"You  get  milk,  I  hope?" 

"Yes,"  Charley  said;  "two  of  the  cows  of  the  last  lot 
papa  bought  arc  accustomed  to  be  milked,  and  Hubert 
and  I  have  done  it  up  till  now;  but  we  shall  hand  them 
over  to  you,  and  you  girls  will  have  to  learn." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  5f 

Maud  and  Ethel  looked  at  each  other  triumphantly. 
"Perhaps  we  know  more  than  you  think,"  Ethel  said. 

"Yes,"  Mrs.  Hardy  said;  "the  girls  are  going  to  be 
two  very  useful  little  women.  I  will  tell  you  a  secret. 
While  you  boys  were  at  work  of  a  morning,  the  girls,  as 
yon  know,  often  walked  over  to  Mr.  Williams  the 
farmer's,  to  learn  as  much  as  they  could  about  poultry, 
of  which  he  kept  a  great  many.  Mrs.  Williams  saw  how 
anxious  they  were  to  learn  to  be  useful,  so  she  offered  to 
teach  them  to  milk,  and  to  manage  a  dairy,  and  make 
butter  and  cheese.  And  they  worked  regularly,  till  Mrs. 
Williams  told  me  she  thought  that  they  could  make 
butter  as  well  as  she  could.  It  has  been  a  great  secret, 
for  the  girls  did  not  wish  even  their  papa  to  know,  so 
that  it  might  be  a  surprise." 

"Very  well  done,  little  girls,"  Mr.  Hardy  said;  "it  is 
a  surprise  indeed,  and  a  most  pleasant  one.  Mamma 
kept  your  secret  capitally,  and  never  as  much  as  whis- 
pered a  word  to  me  about  it." 

The  boys  too  were  delighted,  for  they  had  not  tasted 
butter  since  they  arrived,  and  they  promised  readily 
enough  to  make  a  rough  churn  with  the  least  possible 
delay. 

By  ten  o'clock  the  carts  arrived  with  Sarah  and  the 
luggage,  and  then  there  was  work  for  the  afternoon, 
putting  up  the  bedsteads,  and  getting  everything  into 
order.  The  mosquito  curtains  were  fitted  to  the  beds, 
and  ail  felt  gratified  at  the  thought  that  they  should  be 
able  to  set  the  little  bloodsuckers  at  defiance.  The  next 
day  was  Sunday,  upon  which,  as  usual,  no  work  was  to 
be  done.  After  breakfast  the  benches  were  brought  in 
from  the  bedrooms,  and  the  men  assembling,  Mr.  Hardy 
read  prayers,  offering  up  a  special  prayer  for  the  blessing 
and  protection  of  God  upon  their  household.  Afterward 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  were  taken  over  the  place,  and 


58  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

shown  the  storehouse,  and  the  men's  tent,  and  the  river, 
and  the  newly  planted  field. 

"The  ground  is  getting  very  much  burned  up,  papa/5 
Charley  said.  "It  was  damp  enough  when  we  put  in  the 
crops,  and  they  are  getting  on  capitally;  but  I  fear  that 
they  were  sown  too  late,  and  will  be  burned  up." 

"Ah,  but  I  have  a  plan  to  prevent  that/'  Mr.  Hardy 
said.  "See  if  you  can  think  what  it  is." 

Neither  of  the  boys  could  imagine. 

"When  I  first  described  the  place  to  you,  I  told  you 
that  there  was  a  main  stream  with  a  smaller  one  running 
into  it,  and  that  I  thought  that  this  last  would  be  very 
useful.  I  examined  the  ground  very  carefully,  and  I 
found  that  the  small  stream  runs  for  some  distance  be- 
tween two  slight  swells,  which  narrow  in  sharply  to  each 
other  just  below  the  house.  Now  I  find  that  a  dam  of 
not  more  than  fifty  feet  wide  and  eight  feet  high  will 
make  a  sort  of  lake  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and  averag- 
ing fifty  yards  wide.  From  this  the  water  will  flow  over 
the  whole  flat  by  the  river  in  front  of  the  house  and  away 
to  the  left,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  irrigate  at  least  three 
or  four  hundred  acres  of  land.  Upon  these  we  shall  be 
able  to  raise  four  or  five  crops  a  year;  and  one  crop  in 
particular,  the  alfalfa,  a  sort  of  lucern  for  fattening  the 
cattle  in  time  of  drought,  when  the  grass  is  all  parched 
up.  At  that  time  cattle  ordinarily  worth  only  fifteen 
dollars  can  be  sold,  if  fat,  for  forty-five  or  fifty  dollars. 
So  you  see,  boys,  there  is  a  grand  prospect  before  us." 

The  boys  entered  enthusiastically  into  the  scheme, 
and  the  party  went  at  once  to  inspect  the  spot  which 
Mr.  Hardy  had  fixed  upon  for  the  dam.  This,  it  was 
agreed,  should  be  commenced  the  very  next  day;  and 
Mr.  Hardy  said  that  he  had  no  doubt,  if  the  earth  was 
properly  puddled,  or  stamped  when  wet,  that  it  would 
keep  the  water  from  coming  through. 


®UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  §9 

In  the  afternoon  Mrs.  Hardy,  Maud,  and  Ethel  were 
taken  a  ride  round  the  property,  and  were  fortunate 
enough  to  see  some  ostriches,  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
girls. 

At  tea  Mr.  Hardy  said:  "There  is  one  very  important 
point  connected  with  our  place  which  has  hitherto  been 
unaccountably  neglected.  Do  any  of  you  know  what 
it  is?" 

The  boys  and  their  sisters  looked  at  each  other  in 
great  perplexity,  and  in  vain  endeavored  to  think  of  any 
important  omission. 

"I  mean,"  their  father  said  at  last,  "the  place  has  no 
name.  I  suggest  that  we  fix  upon  one  at  once.  It  is 
only  marked  in  the  government  plan  as  Lot  473.  Now, 
what  name  shall  it  be?" 

Innumerable  were  the  suggestions  made,  but  none  met 
with  universal  approbation.  At  last  Mrs.  Hardy  said: 
"I  have  heard  in  England  of  a  place  called  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, though  I  confess  I  do  not  know  where  it  is.  Now, 
what  do  you  say  to  Mount  Pleasant?  It  is  a  mount,  and 
we  mean  it  to  be  a  very  pleasant  place  before  we  have 
done  with  it." 

The  approval  of  the  suggestion  was  general,  and  amid 
great  applause  it  was  settled  that  the  house  and  estate 
should  hereafter  go  by  the  name  of  "Mount  Pleasant." 

In  the  morning  the  boys  were  at  work  at  two  wheel- 
barrows, for  which  Mr.  Hardy  had  brought  out  wheels 
and  ironwork;  and  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  men  went  down 
to  the  stream,  and  began  to  strip  off  the  turf  and  to  dig 
out  a  strip  of  land  twenty-five  feet  wide  along  the  line 
where  the  dam  was  to  come.  The  earth  was  then  wetted 
and  puddled.  When  the  barrows  were  completed  they 
were  brought  into  work;  and  in  ten  days  a  dam  was 
raised  eight  feet  high,  three  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and 
twenty-five  feet  wide  at  the  bottom.  In  the  middle  a 


60  0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

space  of  two  feet  wide  was  left,  through  which  the  little 
stream  at  present  ran.  Two  posts,  with  grooves  in  them, 
were  driven  in,  one  upon  either  side  of  this;  and  thus 
the  work  was  left  for  a  few  days,  for  the  sun  to  bake  its 
surface,  while  the  men  were  cutting  a  trench  for  the 
water  to  run  down  to  the  ground  to  be  irrigated. 

A  small  sluice  was  put  at  the  entrance  to  this,  to  regu- 
late the  quantity  of  water  to  be  allowed  to  flow,  and  all 
was  now  in  readiness  to  complete  the  final  operation  of 
closing  up  the  dam.  A  quantity  of  earth  was  first  col- 
lected and  puddled,  and  piled  on  the  top  of  the  dam  and 
on  the  slopes  by  its  side,  so  as  to  be  in  readiness,  and 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  came  down  to  watch  the  opera- 
tion. 

First  a  number  of  boards  two  feet  long,  and  cut  to  fit 
the  grooves,  were  slipped  down  into  them,  forming  a 
solid  wall,  and  then  upon  the  upper  side  of  these  the 
puddled  earth  was  thrown  down  into  the  water,  Terence 
standing  below  in  the  stream  and  pounding  down  the 
earth  with  a  rammer.  The  success  was  complete:  in  a 
couple  of  hours'  time  the  gap  in  the  dam  was  filled  up, 
and  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  little  stream 
overflowing  its  banks  and  widening  out  above,  while  not 
a  drop  of  water  made  its  escape  by  the  old  channel. 

While  this  work  had  been  going  on  the  boys  had  been 
engaged  up  at  the  house.  The  first  thing  was  to  make  a 
churn,  then  to  put  up  some  large  closets  and  some  more 
shelves,  and  the  bullock  carts  had  to  be  sent  to  Eosario 
for  a  fresh  supply  of  planks.  This  occupied  them  until 
the  dam  was  finished.  The  girls  had  tried  their  first 
experiment  at  butter,  and  the  result  had  been  most  satis- 
factory. The  dinners,  too,  were  pronounced  to  be  an 
immense  improvement  upon  the  old  state  of  things. 

Soon  after  the  dam  was  finished  Hans,  who  had  been 
too  long  a  rover  to  settle  down,  expressed  his  desire  to 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  fl 

leave;  and  as  Mr.  Hardy  had  determined  to  lessen  his 
establishment — as,  now  that  the  heavy  work  was  over,  it 
was  no  longer  necessary  to  keep  so  many  hands — he 
offered  no  objection  to  his  leaving  without  the  notice  he 
had  agreed  to  give.  Wages  were  high,  and  Mr.  Hardy 
was  desirous  of  keeping  his  remaining  capital  in  hand, 
in  case  of  his  sheep  and  cattle  being  driven  off  by  the 
Indians.  One  of  the  peons  was  also  discharged,  and 
there  remained  only  Lopez,  Seth,  Terence,  and  two 
peons. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  TALE  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

MB.  HARDY  was  rather  surprised  at  Seth  Harper,  the 
Yankee,  having  remained  so  long  in  his  service,  as  the 
man  had  plainly  stated,  when  first  engaged,  that  he 
thought  it  likely  that  he  should  not  fix  himself,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  for  many  weeks.  However,  he  stayed  on, 
and  had  evidently  taken  a  fancy  to  the  boys;  and  was 
still  more  interested  in  the  girls,  whose  talk  and  ways 
must  have  been  strange  and  very  pleasant  to  him  after  so 
many  years7  wandering  as  a  solitary  man.  He  was  gen- 
erally a  man  of  few  words,  using  signs  where  signs  would 
suffice,  and  making  his  answers,  when  obliged  to  speak, 
as  brief  as  possible.  This  habit  of  taciturnity  was  no 
doubt  acquired  from  a  long  life  passed  either  alone  or 
amid  dangers  where  an  unnecessary  sound  might  have 
cost  him  his  life.  To  the  young  people,  however,  he 
would  relax  from  his  habitual  rule  of  silence.  Of  an 
evening,  when  work  was  over,  they  would  go  down  to 
the  bench  he  had  erected  outside  his  hut,  and  would  ask 
him  to  tell  them  tales  of  his  Indian  experiences.  Upon 
one  of  these  occasions  Charley  said  to  him:  "But  of  all 
the  near  escapes  that  you  have  had,  which  was  the  most 
hazardous  you  ever  had?  which  do  you  consider  was  the 
narrowest  touch  you  ever  had  of  being  killed?" 

Seth  considered  for  some  time  in  silence,  turned  his 
plug  of  tobacco  in  his  mouth,  expectorated  two  or  three 
times,  as  was  hii  custom  when  thinking,  and  then  said, 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS.  63 

"That's  not  altogether  an  easy  question  to  answer.  I've 
been  so  near  wiped  out  such  scores  of  times,  that  it  ain't 
no  easy  job  to  say  which  was  the  downright  nearest.  In 
thinking  it  over,  I  conclude  sometimes  that  one  go  was 
the  nearest,  sometimes  that  another;  it  ain't  no  ways 
easy  to  say  now.  But  I  think  that,  at  the  time,  I  never 
so  much  felt  that  Seth  Harper's  time  for  going  down  had 
come,  as  I  did  in  an  affair  near  San  Louis." 

"And  how  was  that,  Seth?  Do  tell  us  about  it," 
Maud  said. 

"It's  rather  a  long  story,  that  is,"  the  Yankee  said. 

"All  the  better,  Seth,"  Charley  said;  "at  least  all  the 
better  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  if  you  don't  mind  tell- 
ing  it." 

"No,  I  don't  mind,  no  how,"  Seth  answered.  "I'll 
just  think  it  over,  and  see  where  to  begin." 

There  was  a  silence  for  a  few  minutes,  and  the  young 
Hardys  composed  themselves  comfortably  for  a  good  long 
sitting,  and  then  Seth  Harper  began  his  story. 

"Better  than  five  years  back,  in  '47, 1  were  fighting  in 
Mexico.  It  wasn't  much  regular  up  and  down  fighting 
we  had,  though  we  had  some  toughish  battles  too,  but  it 
were  skirmishing  here,  skirmishing  there,  keeping  one 
eye  always  open,  for  man,  woman,  and  child  hated  ua 
like  pison,  and  it  was  little  mercy  that  a  straggler  might 
expect  if  he  got  caught  away  from  his  friends.  Their 
partisans  chiefs,  half-soldier,  half-robber,  did  us  more 
harm  than  the  regulars,  and  mercy  was  never  given  or 
asked  between  them  and  us.  Me  and  Rube  Pearson 
worked  mostly  together.  We  had  'fit'  the  Indians  out 
on  the  prairies  for  years  side  by  side,  and  when  Uncle 
Sam  wanted  men  to  lick  the  Mexicans,  we  concluded  to 
go  in  together.  We  'listed  as  scouts  to  the  'Rangers/ 
that  is,  we  agreed  to  fight  as  much  as  we  were  wanted  to 
fight,  and  to  go  on  in  front  as  scouts,  in  which  way  we 


6±  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

had  many  a  little  skrimmage  on  our  own  account;  but 
we  didn't  wear  any  uniform,  or  do  drill,  which  couldn't 
have  been  expected  of  us.  We  shouldn't  have  been  no 
good  as  regulars,  and  every  one  knew  that  there  were  no 
better  scouts  in  the  army  than  Rube  Pearson  and  Seth 
Harper.  Lor',  what  a  fellow  Eube  was,  to  be  sure!  I 
ain't  a  chicken,"  and  the  Yankee  looked  down  at  his 
own  bony  limbs,  "but  I  was  a  baby  by  the  side  of  Rube. 
He  were  six  feet  four  if  he  were  an  inch,  and  so  broad 
that  he  looked  short  unless  you  saw  him  by  the  side  of 
another  man.  I  do  believe  Eube  Pearson  were  the 
strongest  man  in  the  world.  I  have  heard,"  Seth  went 
on,  meditating,  "of  a  chap  called  Samson:  folks  say  ha 
were  a  strong  fellow.  I  never  came  across  any  one  who 
had  rightly  met  him,  but  a  good  many  have  heard  speak 
of  him.  I  should  like  to  have  seen  him  and  Rube  in  the 
grips.  I  expect  Rube  would  have  astonished  him. 
Rube  came  from  Missouri — most  of  them  very  big  chaps 
do.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  Samson  did,  though  I  never 
heard  for  certain." 

The  young  Hardys  had  great  difficulty  to  prevent 
themselves  from  laughing  aloud  at  Seth's  idea  on  the 
subject  of  Samson.  Charley,  however,  with  a  great 
effort,  steadied  himself  to  say,  "Samson  died  a  great 
many  years  ago,  Seth.  His  history  is  in  the  Bible." 

"Is  it,  though?"  Seth  said,  much  interested.  "Well 
now,  what  did  he  do?" 

"He  carried  away  the  gates  of  Gaza  on  his  back,  Seth." 

Seth  remained  thoughtful  for  some  time.  "It  all 
depends  on  how  big  the  gates  were,"  he  said  at  last. 
"That  gate  down  there  is  a  pretty  heavyish  one,  but 
Rube  Pearson  could  have  carried  away  two  sich  as  that, 
and  me  sitting  on  the  top  of  them.  What  else  did  he 
do?" 

"He  was  bound  in  new  cords,  and  he  broke  them 
asunder,  Seth." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  65 

Seth  did  not  appear  to  attach  much  importance  to 
this,  and  inquired,  "Did  he  do  anything  else?" 

"He  killed  three  hundred  men  with  the  jawbone  of 
an  ass." 

"He  killed — "  Seth  began,  and  then  paused  in  sheer 
astonishment.  Then  he  looked  sharply  round:  "You're 
making  fun  of  me,  lad." 

"No,  indeed,  Seth,"  Charley  said;  "it  is  quite  true." 

"What!  that  a  man  killed  three  hundred  men  with 
the  jawbone  of  an  ass?  It  couldn't  have  been;  it  was 
sheer  impossible — unless  they  were  all  asleep,  and  even 
then  it  would  be  an  awful  job." 

"I  don't  know  how  it  was,  Seth,  but  the  Bible  tells  us, 
and  so  it  must  be  true.  I  think  it  was  a  sort  of  miracle." 

"Oh,  it  was  a  miracle!"  Seth  said  thoughtfully,  and 
then  remained  silent,  evidently  pondering  in  his  own 
mind  as  to  what  a  miracle  was,  but  not  liking  to  ask. 

"It  was  a  very  long  time  ago,  Seth,  and  they  were  no 
doubt  a  different  people  then." 

"Was  it  a  very,  very  long  time  back?"  Seth  asked. 

"Yes,  Seth;  a  very,  very,  very  long  time." 

"Ah!"  Seth  said  in  a  thoughtful  but  more  satisfied 
tone,  "I  understand  now.  I  expect  it's  that.  It's  the 
same  thing  among  the  Indians:  they  have  got  stories  of 
chiefs  who  died  ever  so  long  ago,  who  used  to  be  tremen- 
dous fellows — traditions  they  call  'em.  I  don't  expect 
they  were  any  braver  than  they  are  now;  but  a  thing 
grows,  you  see,  like  a  tree,  with  age.  Lor'  bless  'em!  if 
they  tell  such  tales  now  about  a  Jew,  what  will  they  do 
some  day  about  Kube  Pearson?" 

The  young  Hardys  could  stand  it  no  longer,  but  went 
off  into  a  scream  of  laughter,  which  even  the  surprised 
and  offended  looks  of  the  ignorant  and  simple  minded, 
but  shrewd,  Yankee  could  not  check.  So  offended  was 
he,  indeed,  that  no  entreaties  or  explanations  were  su£fi« 


06  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

cient  to  mollify  him,  and  the  story  was  abruptly  broken 
off.  It  was  not  for  two  or  three  days  that  the  boys'  ex- 
planation and  assurance  sufficed;  and  then,  when 
Charley  had  explained  the  whole  history  of  Samson  to 
him,  he  said: 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  all  true,  and  I  wish  I  could 
read  it  for  myself.  I  can  just  remember  that  my  mother 
put  a  great  store  on  her  Bible,  and  called  it  the  good 
book.  I  can't  read  myself,  and  shouldn't  have  time  to 
do  it  if  I  could;  so  it's  all  one  as  far  as  that  goes.  I  am 
just  a  hunter  and  Indian  fighter,  and  I  don't  know  that 
for  years  I  have  ever  stopped  so  long  under  a  roof  as  I 
have  here.  My  religion  is  the  religion  of  most  of  us  out 
on  the  prairies.  Be  honest  and  true  to  your  word. 
Stick  to  a  friend  to  death,  and  never  kill  a  man  except 
in  fair  fight.  That's  about  all,  and  I  hope  it  will  do;  at 
any  rate,  it's  too  late  for  me  to  try  and  learn  a  new  one 
now.  I  listen  on  a  Sunday  to  your  father's  reading,  and 
I  wish  sometimes  I  had  been  taught;  and  yet  it's  better 
as  it  is.  A  man  who  acted  like  that  wouldn't  be  much 
good  for  a  rough  life  on  the  prairies,  though  I  have  no 
doubt  it  could  be  done  in  the  settlements.  Now  I  must 
go  on  with  my  work.  If  you  and  the  others  will  come 
over  to  the  hut  this  evening  I  will  go  on  with  that  yam 
I  was  just  beginning. " 

After  tea  the  young  Hardys  went  down  to  the  hut,  out- 
side which  they  found  Seth  awaiting  their  arrival.  They 
were  now  comfortably  seated,  and  Seth,  without  further 
introduction,  went  on. 

"One  day  our  captain  sent  for  Rube  and  me,  and  says, 
'I've  got  a  job  for  you  two  scouts.  It's  a  dangerous  one, 
but  you  won't  like  it  any  the  worse  for  that,  I  know.' 

"  'Not  a  bit/  said  Rube  with  a  laugh.  He  was  the 
lightest-hearted  fellow,  was  Rube;  always  gay  and  jolly, 
and  wouldn't  have  hurt  a  squirrel,  except  in  stand-up 
fight  and  as  a  matter  of  business. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  67 

T 

"  'What  is  it,  Gap?'  said  I;  'you've  only  got  to  give  us 
the  word,  and  we're  on*.' 

"  'I've  had  a  message/  he  said,  'from  Colonel  Cabra 
of  their  service,  that  he  is  ready  to  turn  traitor,  and  hand 
us  over  some  correspondence  of  Santa  Anna,  of  which  he 
lias  somehow  got  possessed.  Being  a  traitor,  he  won't 
trust  any  one,  and  the  only  plan  we  can  hit  upon  is,  that 
he  shall  make  a  journey  to  San  Miguel,  thirty  miles 
north  of  this,  as  if  on  business.  I  am  to  make  an  expe- 
dition in  that  direction,  and  am  to  take  him  prisoner. 
He  will  then  hand  over  the  papers.  We  shall  bring  him 
lere,  and,  after  keeping  him  for  a  time,  let  him  go  on. 
jarole.  No  suspicion  will  therefore  at  any  future  time 
arise  against  him,  which  there  might  be  if  we  met  in  any 
other  way.  The  papers  are  very  important,  and  the 
affair  must  not  be  suffered  to  slip  through.  The  coun- 
try between  this  and  San  Miguel  is  peaceful  enough,  but 
•we  hear  that  El  Zeres'  band  is  out  somewhere  in  that  di- 
rection. He  has  something  like  two  hundred  cutthroats 
with  him  of  his  own,  and  there  is  a  rumor  that  other 
bands  have  joined  him.  Now  I  want  you  to  go  on  to- 
morrow to  San  Miguel.  Go  in  there  after  dusk,  and  take 
up  your  quarters  at  this  address;  it  is  a  small  wine-shop 
In  a  street  off  the  market.  Get  up  as  Mexicans;  it  only 
requires  a  big  cloak  and  a  sombrero.  You  can  both 
speak  Spanish  well  enough  to  pass  muster.  Stay  all 
next  day,  and  till  daybreak  on  the  morning  afterward, 
and  then  ride  back  on  this  road.  You  will  find  cut  in 
the  first  place  whether  Cabra  has  arrived,  and  in  the  next 
place  whether  El  Zeres  is  in  the  neighborhood.  I  shall 
only  bring  forty  men,  as  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  supposed 
that  I  am  going  on  more  than  a  mere  scouting  expedi- 
tion. You  understand?' 

"  'All  right,  Cap;  we'll  do  it,'  I  said,  and  we  went  off 
to  our  quartere. 


68  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"I  can't  say  I  altogether  liked  the  job.  It  was  a  long 
way  from  headquarters,  and,  do  what  they  may,  two  men 
can't  fight  more  than,  say,  ten  or  a  dozen.  I  was  rather 
surprised  to  see  by  Rube's  face  that  he  rather  liked  it; 
but  I  did  not  find  out  till  late  that  night  what  it  was 
pleased  him — then  the  truth  came  out. 

"  'We  had  better  start  early,  Seth,'  said  he;  'say  at 
daybreak.' 

"  'What  for,  Rube?'  I  said;  'the  Cap  said  we  were  to 
go  in  after  dusk.  It's  only  thirty  miles;  we  shan't  want 
to  start  till  three  o'clock.' 

"Rube  laughed.  'I  don't  want  to  get  there  before 
dusk,  but  I  want  to  start  at  daybreak,  and  I'll  tell  you 
why.  You  remember  Pepita?' 

"  'There,'  said  I,  'if  I  didn't  think  it  had  something 
to  do  with  a  woman.  You  are  always  running  after 
some  one,  Rube.  They  will  get  you  into  a  scrape  some 
day.' 

"Rube  laughed.  'I  am  big  enough  to  get  out  of  it  if 
it  does,  Seth;  but  you  know  I  did  feel  uncommon  soft 
toward  Pepita,  and  really  thought  of  marrying  and 
taking  her  back  to  Missouri.' 

"  'Only  she  wouldn't  come,  Rube?' 

"  'Just  so,  Seth,'  said  he,  laughing.  So  we  agreed 
we  would  be  the  best  friends;  and  she  asked  me,  if  ever 
I  went  out  to  San  Miguel,  to  go  and  see  her.  She  said 
her  father  was  generally  out,  but  would  be  glad  to  see  me 
if  he  were  in.  She  lives  in  a  small  hacienda,  a  league 
this  side  of  the  town. 

"I  saw  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  argue,  but  I  didn't  like 
it.  The  Mexican  women  hated  us  worse  than  the  men 
did,  and  that  warn't  easy  to  do;  and  many  of  our  fellows 
had  been  murdered  after  being  enticed  by  them  to  out- 
of-the-way  places.  Still,  in  the  present  case,  I  did  not 
see  that  the  girl  could  have  expected  that  Rube  would 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  69 

be  there  unless  the  rest  of  us  were  near  at  hand,  and  I 
did  not  attempt  to  oppose  Rube's  wishes. 

"So  next  morning  off  we  started,  and  by  ten  o'clock 
•we  rode  up  to  the  door  of  the  place  which  Eube  said  an- 
swered to  the  description  Pepita  had  given  him.  It  was  a 
pretty  place,  with  trees  round  it,  and  might  have  been 
the  residence  of  a  small  proprietor  such  as  Pepita  had 
described  her  father  to  be.  As  we  rode  up  to  the  door  ifc 
opened,  and  I  saw  at  once  that  Rube  were  right,  for  a 
dark-eyed  Mexican  girl  came  out  and  looked  at  us 
inquiringly. 

"  'What  can  I  do  for  you,  sefiors?'  she  asked. 

"  'Don't  you  remember  me,  Donna  Pepita?'  Rube  said, 
laughing,  as  he  lifted  the  sombrero  which  had  shaded  his 
face. 

"The  girl  started  violently.  'Ah,  Signer  Americano, 
is  it  you?  I  might  have  known,  indeed/  she  said,  smil- 
ing, 'by  your  size,  even  wrapped  up.  This,  of  course,  13 
Signor  Seth — you  are  always  together.  But  come  in/ 
she  said. 

"  'Who  have  you  got  inside,  Donna  Pepita?'  Rube 
asked.  'I  know  that  I  can  trust  you,  but  I  can't  trust 
others,  and  I  don't  want  it  known  I  am  here.' 

"  'The  house  is  empty/  Pepita  said.  'My  father  is 
out.  There  is  only  old  Jacinta  at  home/ 

"At  this  moment  an 'old  woman  made  her  appearance 
at  the  door,  and  at  a  word  from  Pepita  took  our  horses, 
while  Pepita  signed  to  us  to  enter. 

"  'Excuse  me,  signora/  I  said.  'We  will  go  first  and 
see  our  horses  stabled.  Tt  is  our  custom;  one  never 
knows  when  he  may  want  them/ 

"I  thought  Pepita  looked  annoyed,  but  it  was  only 
for  a  moment,  and  then  she  said  something  in  one  of  the 
country  dialects  to  the  old  woman.  She  nodded  her 
head,  and  went  off  round  to  the  back  of  the  house,  we 


70  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

leading  our  horses,  and  following  her.  The  stables,  I 
observed,  were  singularly  large  and  well  kept  for  a  house 
of  its  size;  but,  to  my  surprise,  instead  of  going  to  the 
long  range  of  buildings,  the  old  woman  led  the  way  to  a 
small  shed. 

"  'Ain't  these  stables?'  said  I. 

"She  shook  her  head,  and  said  in  Spanish,  'They  were 
once,  but  we  have  only  two  horses.  Now  they  are  used 
as  a  store  for  grain;  the  master  has  the  key.' 

"I  could  not  contradict  her,  though  I  believed  she  was 
telling  me  a  lie.  However,  we  fastened  our  horses  up  in 
the  shed,  put  the  pistols  from  our  holsters  into  our  belts, 
and,  taking  our  rifles  in  our  hands,  entered  the  house. 

"Pepita  received  us  very  warmly,  and  busied  herself 
assisting  the  old  woman  to  get  us  something  to  eat;  after 
which  she  and  Eube  began  love-making,  and  it  really 
seemed  as  if  the  girl  meant  to  change  her  mind,  and  go 
back  with  Eube,  after  all.  There  was  nothing,  in  fact, 
to  justify  my  feeling  uneasy,  except  that,  while  Pepita 
had  promised  me  when  I  entered  the  house  not  to  tell 
the  old  woman  who  we  were,  I  was  convinced  that  she 
had  done  so  by  the  glances  of  scowling  hatred  which  the 
old  hag  threw  at  us  whenever  she  came  into  the  room. 
Still  I  was  uneasy,  and  shortly  made  some  excuse  to  leave 
the  room  and  saunter  round  and  about  the  house,  to 
assure  myself  that  Pepita  had  spoken  truly  when  she 
had  said  that  there  was  no  one  there  except  the  old 
woman  and  'herself.  I  found  nothing  to  excite  the 
smallest  suspicion,  and  was  therefore  content  to  return 
to  the  room  and  to  throw  myself  lazily  down  and  go  off 
for  a  siesta,  in  the  wakeful  intervals  of  which  I  could 
hear  that  Pepita  had  given  way,  and  that  the  delighted 
Rube  was  arranging  with  her  how  she  should  escape  and 
join  him  when  the  army  retired;  for  of  course  neither 
had  any  idea  that  her  father  would  consent  to  her  marry- 
ing one  of  the  hated  enemies  of  his  country. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  71 

"At  three  o'clock  I  roused  myself  and  soon  after  the 
old  woman  came  into  the  room  with  some  lemonade.  I 
observed  that  Pepita  changed  color,  but  she  said  nothing, 
and  a  moment  after,  making  some  excuse,  she  left  the 
room.  I  was  about  to  speak  to  Kube  on  the  subject, 
when  the  window  was  darkened  with  men.  Five  or  six 
shots  were  fired  at  us,  and  with  a  yell  a  crowd  of  Mexicans 
rushed  into  the  room. 

"As  they  appeared  Eube  sprang  up  with  the  exclama- 
tion, 'Trapped,  by  thunder!'  and  then  fell  flat  on  his 
back,  shot,  I  believed,  through  the  head. 

"I  rushed  to  my  rifle,  seized  it,  but  before  I  could  get 
it  to  my  shoulder  it  was  knocked  from  my  hand.  Half  a 
dozen  fellows  threw  themselves  upon  me,  and  I  was  a 
prisoner.  I  didn't  try  to  resist  when  they  laid  hands  on 
me,  because  I  knew  I  should  have  a  knife  in  me  at  once; 
and  though  I  knew  my  life  was  not  worth  an  hour's  pur- 
chase—no, nor  five  minutes' — after  I  was  caught,  still 
upon  the  whole  it  was  as  well  to  live  that  five  minutes  as 
not. 

"There  was  such  a  hubbub  and  a  shouting  at  first  that 
I  couldn't  hear  a  word,  but  at  last  I  picked  up  that  they 
were  a  party  of  the  band  of  El  Zeres,  who  was  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  had  been  fetched  by  a  boy  that 
traitress  Pepita  had  dispatched  for  them  directly  we 
arrived.  Pepita  herself  was  wife  of  one  of  the  other 
chiefs  of  the  band.  Much  fun  was  made  of  poor  Kube 
and  myself  about  our  courting.  I  felt  mad  with  myself 
for  having  been  caught  so  foolishly.  I  couldn't  feel 
angry  with  Eube,  with  him  lying  dead  there,  but  I  was 
angry  with  myself  for  having  listened  to  him.  I 
oughtn't  to  have  allowed  him  to  have  his  own  way. 
I  warn't  in  love,  and  I  ought  to  have  known  that  a  man's 
head,  when  he's  after  a  gal,  is  no  more  use  than  a 
pumpkin.  While  I  was  thinking  this  out  in  my  mind  I 


72  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

had  my  eyes  fixed  upon  poor  Rube,  whom  no  one 
thought  of  noticing,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  gave  quite  a 
start,  for  I  saw  him  move.  I  couldn't  see  his  face,  hut  I 
saw  a  hand  stealing  gradually  out  toward  the  leg  of  a 
man  who  stood  near.  Then  there  was  a  pause,  and  then 
the  other  hand  began  to  move.  It  wasn't  at  all  like  the 
aimless  way  that  the  arms  of  a  badly  hit  man  would 
move,  and  J  saw  at  once  that  Kube  had  been  playing 
'possum'  all  along." 

"Doing  what,  Seth?"  Ethel  asked. 

"Just  pretending  to  be  dead.  I  held  my  breath,  for  I 
saw  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could  not  be 
overlooked  much  longer,  and  was  going  to  make  a  move. 

"In  another  minute  there  was  a  crash  and  a  shout  as 
the  two  men  fell  to  the  ground  with  their  legs  knocked 
clean  from  under  them,  catching  hold  of  other  men  and 
dragging  them  down  with  them.  From  the  midst  of  the 
confusion  Eube  leaped  to  his  feet  and  made  a  rush  for 
the  window;  one  man  he  leveled  with  a  blow  of  his  fist; 
another  he  caught  up  as  if  he  had  been  a  baby,  and  hurl- 
ing him  against  two  others,  brought  them  on  the  ground 
together,  and  then  leaping  over  their  bodies,  dashed 
through  the  window  before  the  Mexicans  had  recovered 
from  their  astonishment.  I  could  have  laughed  out  loud 
at  the  yell  of  rage  and  amazement  with  which  they  set  off 
in  pursuit;  but  two  or  three  of  them  remained  to  guard 
me,  and  I  might  have  got  a  knife  in  my  ribs,  so  I  kept 
quiet.  I  did  just  feel  so  glad  to  see  Kube  was  alive,  that 
I  hardly  remembered  that  it  warn't  likely  that  either  he 
or  I  would  be  so  long,  for  I  did  not  for  a  moment  expect 
that  he  would  make  good  his  escape.  The  odds  were  too 
great  against  it,  especially  in  broad  daylight.  Even  on 
horseback  it  would  be  next  to  impossible.  No  one  but 
Rube  would  have  attempted  such  a  thing;  but  he  never 
stopped  to  think  about  odds  or  chances  when  his  dander 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  73 

was  up.  In  less  than  no  time  I  heard  a  shot  or  two,  then 
there  was  a  silence  for  a  time,  then  a  shout  of  triumph. 
I  knew  it  was  all  over,  and  that  Rube  was  taken  again. 

"He  told  me  afterward  that  he  had  made  a  dash  round 
to  the  stable,  where  he  had  found  seven  or  eight  Mexi- 
cans looking  after  the  horses;  that  he  had  knocked  down 
one  or  two  who  were  in  his  way,  had  leaped  upon  the 
nearest  animal,  and  had  made  off  at  the  top  of  his  speed, 
but  that  a  dozen  others  were  after  him  in  an  instant; 
and  seeing  that  he  would  be  lassoed  and  thrown  from  his 
horse,  he  had  stopped  and  thrown  up  his  arms  in  token 
of  surrender.  Rube's  hands  were  bound  tightly  behind 
him,  and  he  was  led  back  into  the  room. 

"He  gave  a  loud  laugh  when  he  saw  me:  'That  was  a 
boy's  trick;  wasn't  it,  Seth?  But  I  couldn't  have 
helped  it  if  I  had  been  shot  a  minute  afterward.  There 
were  those  fellows'  legs  moving  about  me  just  as  if  I  was 
a  log  of  wood.  The  thoughts  came  across  me,  "A  good 
sharp  rap  above  the  ankle  and  over  you'd  go;"  and  when 
I'd  once  thought  of  it,  I  was  obliged  to  do  it.  It  was 
fun,  though,  Seth;  wasn't  it?' 

"  'It  was,  as  you  say,  Rube,  a  boy's  trick,  and  just  at 
present  is  hardly  the  time  for  that.  But  don't  let  us 
say  anything  we  don't  want  overheard,  Rube;  some  of 
these  fellows  may  understand.' 

"  'Right  you  are,  Seth.  I  am  main  sorry,  old  hoss, 
that  I've  got  you  into  this  scrape,  but  I  expect  we  shall 
get  out  again  somehow.  I  don't  think  Rube  Pearson  is 
going  to  be  wiped  out  yet. 

"I  hoped  not  too.  I  warn't  a  bit  tired  of  life,  but  I  did 
not  see  my  way  out  of  it.  However,  I  had  one  comfort: 
I  knew  if  any  two  men  could  get  out  of  an  ugly  mess, 
those  two  men  were  Rube  and  I. 

"We  were  now  told  to  sit  down  on  the  ground  in  one 
corner  of  the  room,  two  fellows  taking  up  their  station 


74  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

by  our  sides.  Then  there  was  a  hot  discussion  about  our 
fate,  which  warn't  exactly  pleasant  to  listen  to.  Some 
were  in  favor  of  hanging  us  at  once,  but  the  majority 
were  for  taking  us  to  the  main  body  under  El  Zeres  him- 
self, because  the  chief  woulfl  be  so  glad  to  have  us  in  his 
power.  He  had  frequently  vowed  vengeance  against  us, 
for  we  were  known  as  the  most  active  scouts  in  the  army, 
and  had  led  troops  in  his  pursuit  many  a  time,  and  had 
once  or  twice  come  very  near  to  catching  him.  He  had 
vowed  solemnly  to  his  patron  saint  that  if  we  fell  into 
his  hands  he  would  put  us  to  death  with  unheard-of  tor- 
tures; and  as  El  Zeres  was  rather  celebrated  that  way — 
and  it  was  the  anticipation  of  an  unusual  treat  which 
decided  the  majority  to  reserve  us — it  warn't  altogether 
pleasant  to  listen  to.  But  we  put  a  good  face  on  the 
matter,  for  it  would  never  have  done  to  let  those  Mexi- 
can varmints  see  that  two  backwoodsmen  who  had  'fit* 
them  and  beaten  them  time  after  time  were  afraid  to  die 
when  their  time  came.  Presently  there  was  a  little  stir, 
and  Pepita  came  into  the  room.  I  rather  think  that, 
though  the  girl  hated  us  like  pison,  she  didn't  like  to 
come  into  the  room  where  one  of  us  was,  she  thought, 
laying  |dead.  Now  she  came  in,  looking,  I  will  say  for 
her,  uncommonly  pretty.  She  came  straight  up  to  us, 
and  looked  us  full  in  the  face.  I  paid  no  attention  to 
her,  but  Rube  nodded  quite  cheerfully. 

"  'Well,  signora,  so  you  were  making  fools  of  us,  after 
all!.  Well,  I  ain't  the  first  chap  that's  been  fooled  by  a 
pretty  woman;  that's  one  comfort,  anyhow.  I  suppose 
our  engagement  is  to  be  considered  at  an  end,  eh?'  and 
he  laughed. 

"  'American  dog!'  the  girl  said,  with  her  eyes  flashing 
with  rage,  'did  you  think  you  were  so  good-looking  that 
the  women  of  the  nation  you  tread  upon  are  all  to  lose 
their  hearts  to  you?  We  are  Mexicans,  and  we  hate 
you!'  and  she  stamped  her  foot  with  passion. 


Y-  '  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  75 

"Kube  laughed  unconcernedly.  'Well,  signora,  after 
what  you  now  permit  me  to  §ee  of  you,  I  am  really  thank- 
ful that  you  are  so  kind  and  lenient.  Thunder!  what  a 
fate  mine  would  have  been  if  you  had  taken  it  into  your 
head  to  marry  me!' 

"There  was  a  general  laugh  among  the  men  at  the  cool 
way  in  which  Rube  treated  the  girl,  and  the  enraged 
Pepita  struck  him  a  box  on  the  ear.  It  was  a  hearty  one; 
but  Rube's  face  hardly  changed,  and  he  said,  still  smil- 
ing: 

"  'We  have  a  custom  in  the  States,  Pepita,  that  when 
a  gal  boxes  a  man's  ears,  he  has  a  right  to  give  her  a 
kiss.  You  are  reversing  that;  I  had  the  kisses  this  after- 
noon, and  now  I  have  got  the  box  on  the  ear.' 

"There  was  again  a  roar  of  laughter  among  the  Mexi- 
cans, and  the  enraged  woman  drew  a  knife,  and  would 
have  stabbed  Rube  to  the  heart  had  she  not  been  seized 
by  the  men  standing  round  her  and  forced  from  the 
room.  We  were  kept  in  that  room  under  a  guard  so 
watchful  that  any  attempt  to  escape  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, until  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  The  horses 
were  then  saddled,  and  we  were  soon  off,  Rube  and  I 
riding  in  the  midst  of  the  party  with  our  hands  tied 
before  us,  so  that  we  could  just  hold  the  bridle.  We 
had  found  out  from  the  conversation  that  El  Zeres  with 
his  band  was  about  twenty-five  miles  distant. 

"Upon  our  ride  I  found  an  opportunity  for  the  first 
time  since  our  capture  for  a  talk  with  Rube. 

"  'What  do  you  think  of  it,  Seth?' 

"  'Looks  bad,  Rube,'  I  said.  'If  we  find  El  Zeres  in 
camp,  I  expect  he  will  make  short  work  of  us;  if  he  is 
away  I  suppose  we  shall  get  till  to-morrow  morning. 
If  we  are  to  escape  at  all  it  must  be  to-night.' 

"  'Escape!'  Rube  said  scoffingly;  'of  course  we  are 
going  to  escape.  The  question  is,  Which  one  of  all  the 


78  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

ways  open  to  us  are  we  to  choose?'  and  he  laughed 
merrily. 

"  'I  don't  quite  see  all  the  ways  yet,  Rube;  however, 
we  shall  see  what  sort  of  a  place  we  are  put  in  to-night, 
and  can  then  come  to  some  conclusion.  There  comes  the 
sun.' 

"It  was  about  nine  o'clock  when  we  rode  into  camp; 
and  as  we  approached  it  we  acknowledged  that  a  better 
place  against  a  sudden  surprise  could  hardly  have  been 
chosen.  The  ground  was  flat  for  miles  round;  but  the 
site  of  the  camp  rose  in  a  slight  mound,  of  nearly  circular 
form  and  perhaps  one  hundred  yards  across;  the  central 
part  was  thirty  feet  or  so  above  the  general  level. 
Round  this  the  band  of  El  Zeres  was  encamped.  Rube 
and  I  guessed  them  at  four  hundred  strong.  There  was 
an  attempt  at  military  order,  for,  by  the  bundles  of  wear- 
ing apparel,  etc.,  it  was  evident  that  the  men  slept  round 
a  series  of  bivouac  fires,  extending  in  a  circle  round  the 
foot  of  the  mound.  Within  the  line  of  fires  the  horses 
were  picketed  in  two  rows.  In  the  center  of  the  circle, 
upon  the  highest  point  of  the  rise,  was  a  small  house. 
As  we  approached  we  could  see  a  stir  in  the  camp:  a 
party  of  men  were  mounting  their  horses  as  if  for  an 
expedition. 

"  'I  hope  El  Zeres  is  on  the  point  of  starting  some- 
where, Rube,'  I  said,  'and  that  he  is  in  too  great  a  hurry 
to  stop  to  amuse  himself  with  us  as  he  has  threatened: 
it  will  give  us  another  day." 

"  'I  hope  so,'  Rube  said;  'it's  hard  if  we  don't  manage 
to  make  tracks  if  we  get  twenty-four  hours.' 

"On  reaching  the  camp  we  were  ordered  to  alight; 
and  upon  its  being  known  who  we  were,  there  was  as 
many  shouts  of  triumph  as  if  we  had  been  generals. 

"  'We  are  quite  celebrated  characters,  Seth,'  Rube 
said,  with  his  usual  laugh. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  77 

6*  'Ah,'  said  I,  'we  could  do  without  such  celebrity 
just  at  present/ 

"  *I  don't  know/  Rube  said.  'If  we  were  mere  Ameri- 
can soldiers  they  would  cut  our  throats  at  once:  as  it  is, 
they  may  keep  us  for  a  more  ceremonial  killing.' 

"As  we  were  talking  we  were  being  led  up  toward  the 
central  hut,  which  was  evidently  the  abode  of  the  chief. 
He  was  standing  at  the  door,  tapping  his  riding-boot 
impatiently  with  a  heavy  whip;  a  man  was  holding  his 
horse  in  readiness.  One  of  the  other  leaders  was  stand- 
ing talking  to  him.  'Jehoshophat!'  said  I,  'he  is  going 
out.  We  are  safe  for  awhile.' 

"El  Zeres  was  a  slight,  wiry  man,  irith  a  small  wicked- 
looking  eye,  which  gave  one  the  'squerms'  to  look  at,  and 
a  thin  mouth  curved  up  in  a  cruel  smile.  He  was  the 
savagest  and  most  bloodthirsty  of  all  the  Mexican  par- 
tisans The  man  with  him  was  a  tall,  swarthy,  ferocious- 
looking  villain. 

"El  Zeres  looked  at  us  for  some  time  without  a  word. 
Then  he  said,  'I've  got  you  at  last;  I've  been  on  the 
lookout  for  you  for  a  long  time  past.' 

"  'It  hasn't  been  our  fault  we  haven't  met  before/ 
said  Rube;  which  was  true  enough,  for  we  had  given 
him  a  close  chase  several  times.  El  Zeres  only  gave  an 
evil  smile,  but  the  other  Mexican  exclaimed  savagely, 
'You  dog,  do  you  dare  to  answer?'  and  struck  Rube 
across  the  face  with  all  his  force  with  his  heavy  whip. 

"Rube  turned  quite  white,  and  then  with  a  tremendous 
effort  he  broke  the  cowhide  thongs  which  fastened  his 
hands — not  new  rope,  mind  you,  but  cowhide — just  as  if 
it  had  been  so  much  grass,  and  went  right  at  the  fellow 
who  had  struck  him.  The  Mexicans  gave  a  cry  of  aston- 
ishment, and  threw  themselves  upon  Rube,  El  Zeres 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  'Don't  draw  a  knife, 
don't  draw  a  knife;  I'll  hang  any  man  who  injures  him.* 


?8     ,  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"Rube  had  got  the  fellow  by  the  throat  with  both 
hands,  and  though  the  crowd  of  men  who  threw  them- 
selves upon  him  pulled  him  to  the  ground,  he  never  let 
go,  but  brought  the  man  down  too.  I  knew  it  was  all 
over  with  him.  I  was  quite  mad  to  join  in  and  help; 
but  though  I  tugged  and  strained  at  my  thongs  till  they 
cut  right  into  my  wrists,  I  could  not  succeed.  For 
awhile  they  lay  in  a  struggling  mass  on  the  ground,  and 
then  Rube  shook  himself  free  of  them  for  a  moment  and 
got  to  his  feet.  A  dozen  men  were  upon  him  in  a  mo- 
ment; but  he  was  blind  with  rage,  and  would  not  have 
minded  if  it  had  been  a  thousand.  Those  who  came  in 
front  went  down  as  if  shot  before  the  blows  of  his  fists; 
but  others  leaped  on  him  from  behind,  and  then  the 
struggle  began  again.  I  never  saw  sich  a  thing  before,  and 
never  shall  again.  It  was  downright  awful.  They  could 
not  hold  his  arms.  Their  weight,  over  and  over  again, 
got  him  upon  the  ground,  and  over  and  over  again  he 
was  up  on  his  feet;  but  his  arms,  somehow,  they  could 
not  hold,  and  the  work  he  did  with  them  was  awful. 
Anything  he  hit  went  down,  and  when  he  could  not  hit 
he  gripped.  It  was  like  a  terrier  with  rats:  hecaught'em 
by  the  throat,  and  when  he  did  it  was  all  up  with  them. 
Some  of  them  made  a  grab  for  their  knives,  but  they 
had  no  time  to  use  them.  In  a  moment  their  eyes  would 
seem  to  start  from  their  heads;  and  then,  as  he  threw 
'em  away,  they  fell  in  a  dead  lump.  How  long  this  went 
on  I  can't  say — some  minutes,  though — when  a  Mexican 
snatched  the  lasso,  which  every  Mexican  carries,  from 
the  saddle  of  El  Zeres'  horse,  and  dropped  the  noose 
over  Rube's  neck.  In  another  moment  he  was  lying 
half -strangled  upon  the  ground,  and  a  dozen  hands 
bound  his  hands  behind  him  and  his  feet  together  with 
cowhide  thongs.  Then  they  stood  looking  at  him  as  if 
he  was  some  devil.  And  no  wonder.  Sever*  Mexicans 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  79 

lay  dead  on  the  ground,  and  many  more  were  lying 
panting  and  bleeding  around.  The  Mexicans  are  an 
active  race  of  men,  but  not  strong — nothing  like  an 
average  American— and  Rube  at  any  time  was  a  giant 
even  among  us  scouts;  and  in  his  rage  he  seemed  to  have 
ten  times  his  natural  strength.  El  Zeres  had  never 
moved;  and  except  shouting  to  his  men  not  to  use  their 
knives,  he  had  taken  no  part  whatever  in  it— watching 
the  struggle  with  that  cruel  smile,  as  if  it  had  only  been 
a  terrier  attacked  by  rats.  When  it  was  over  he  mounted 
his  horse,  and  said  to  one  of  his  lieutenants  who  was 
standing  near:  'I  must  go  now.  I  leave  these  men  in 
your  charge,  Pedro.  Fastea  that  one's  hands  behind 
him;  then  take  them  inside.  Put  them  in  the  inner 
room.  Clear  my  things  out.  Take  ten  picked  men,  and 
don't  let  any  one  in  or  out  till  I  return.  I  shall  be  back 
before  daybreak.  I  shall  amuse  myself  to-day  with 
thinking  how  I  shall  try  the  nerves  of  these  Americanos. 
I  can  promise  you  all  a  handsome  amusement  of  some 
sort,  anyhow.'  And  he  rode  off. 

"I  have  often  faced  death,  and  ain't  afraid  of  it;  but 
the  unruffled  face  and  the  cruel  smile  of  that  man  made 
my  flesh  creep  on  my  bones,~as  I  thought  of  what  Rube 
and  I  had  got  to  go  through  the  next  day.  And  now," 
Seth  said,  breaking  off,  "it's  getting  late,  and  I  haven't 
talked  such  a  heap  for  years.  I  will  finish  my  yarn 
another  night." 

Very  warm  were  the  young  Hardys  in  their  thanks  to 
Seth  for  this  exciting  story  from  his  own  experience,  and 
great  was  the  discussion  among  themselves  that  arose  as 
to  how  the  two  Americans  could  possibly  have  mad« 
their  escape  from  their  terrible  predicament. 


80  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  VIL       • 

BETH    CONTINUES    HIS   NARRATIVE  OP  THE  MEXICAN 
ADVENTURE. 

THE  next  evening  the  young  Hardys  again  took  their 
seats  by  Seth,  and,  without  any  delay,  he  went  on  with 
his  story. 

"After  El  Zeres  had  ridden  off  the  lieutenant,  Pedro, 
selected  ten  from  the  men  around — for  pretty  well  the 
whole  camp  had  gathered  round  us — and  told  them,  in 
the  first  place,  to  clear  the  house  of  the  hammock  and 
other  belongings  of  El  Zeres,  and  when  this  was  done  to 
carry  Rube  in.  Bound  and  helpless  as  he  was,  there 
was  a  visible  repugnance  on  the  part  of  the  men  to  touch 
him,  so  great  was  the  fear  which  his  tremendous 
strength  had  excited.  However,  six  of  them  took  him 
up  and  carried  him  into  the  hut — for  it  was  little  more — 
and  threw  him  down  like  a  log  in  the  inner  room.  I 
walked  in  of  my  own  accord,  and  sat  down  on  the  ground 
near  him.  I  heard  Pedro  give  orders  to  some  of  the 
men  outside  to  take  away  the  dead  bodies  and  bury 
them,  and  for  the  rest  to  go  down  to  their  campfires. 
Then  he  entered  the  house  with  his  other  four  men. 

"The  house  was  just  the  ordinary  Mexican  hut.  Ifc 
contained  two  rooms,  or  rather,  one  room  partially 
divided  into  two,  the  inner  compartment  forming  the 
sleeping-room  of  the  family.  There  was  no  door  between 
the  rooms,  nor  was  there  any  window;  the  light  entering 
through  the  wide  opening  into  the  outer  room.  The 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  81 

outer  room  had  no  regular  windows,  only  some  chinks 
or  loopholes,  through  which  a  certain  amount  of  light 
could  come;  but  these  were  stopped  up  with  straw,  for 
the  Mexicans  are  a  chilly  people;  and  as  the  door  was 
always  open,  plenty  of  light  came  in  through  it.  The 
house  was  not  built  of  adobe,  as  are  most  Mexican  huts, 
but  of  stones,  with  the  interstices  plastered  with  mud. 

"Never  in  my  life  did  I  feel  that  the  game  was  up  as  I 
did  when  I  sat  down  there  and  looked  round.  The  men 
were  seated  on  the  ground  in  the  next  room,  in  full  view 
of  us,  and  every  now  and  then  one  walked  in  to  look  at 
us.  Helpless  as  we  were,  they  had  an  uneasy  doubt  of 
what  we  might  do.  Kube  still  lay  at  full  length  on  the 
ground.  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  did  not  speak,  as  I 
thought  it  best  to  let  him  cool  and  quiet  down  a  bit;  and 
I  thought  and  thought,  but  I  couldn't,  for  the  life  of 
me,  think  out  any  plan  of  getting  clear  away.  At  last  I 
thought  I  would  stir  Kube  up.  'How  do  you  feel, 
Kube?'  'Well,  I  feel  just  about  tired  out,'  Rube  said; 
'just  as  if  I  had  walked  a  hundred  miles  right  on  end. 
I've  been  a  fool  again,  Seth,  sure  enough;  but  I've  given 
some  of  them  goss,  that's  a  comfort.  I'll  just  take  a 
sleep  for  a  few  hours,  and  then  we'll  see  about  this  busi- 
ness. Hollo,  there!'  he  shouted  in  Spanish;  'water/ 
For  awhile  no  one  attended  to  him;  but  he  continued  to 
shout,  and  I  joined  him,  so  that  the  men  in  the  next 
room  were  obliged  to  leave  off  their  talk  to  do  as  we 
wanted  them.  One  of  them  got  up  and  took  a  large 
copper  pan,  filled  it  with  water  from  a  skin,  and  placed 
it  down  between  us;  and  then  giving  me  a  hearty  kick- 
even  then  he  did  not  dare  kick  Kube — went  back  to  his 
pillow.  It  took  some  trouble  and  much  rolling  over  be- 
fore we  could  get  so  as  to  get  our  mouths  over  the  pan 
to  drink.  When  we  had  satisfied  our  thirst  we  rolled 
over  again,  made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  we  could 


82  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

I 

under  the  circumstances — which  warn't  saying  much— 
and  in  a  short  time  were  both  asleep,  for  we  had  only 
been  four  hours  in  bed  for  two  nights.  I  was  pretty 
well  accustomed  to  sleep  on  the  ground,  and  I  slept 
without  waking  for  nearly  seven  hours;  for  when  I  did 
so  I  saw  at  once  it  was  nearly  sunset.  I  can't  say  it  was 
an  agreeable  waking,  that;  for  I  felt  as  if  my  shoulders 
were  out  of  joint,  and  that  I  had  two  bands  of  red-hot 
iron  round  my  wrists.  My  first  move  was  to  roll  over 
and  have  another  drink.  Then  I  sat  up  and  looked 
round.  Rube  was  sitting  up,  looking  at  me.  'So  you 
are  awake,  Seth?'  'Yes/  said  I.  'Are  you  all  right 
now,  Rube?'  'As  right  as  can  be/  Rube  said  in  his 
ordinary  cheerful  tone;  'except  that  I  feel  as  if  a  fellow 
was  sawing  away  at  my  ankles  and  wrists  with  a  blunt 
knife.'  'That's  about  the  state  of  my  wrists/  I  said. 
'I  don't  mind  my  wrists  so  much/  he  said;  'it's  my  feet 
bothers  me.  I  shall  be  such  a  time  before  I  can  walk.' 
'You  needn't  bother  about  that,  Rube/  said  I.  'It 
isn't  much  more  walking  your  feet  have  got  to  do.'  'I 
hope  they've  got  more  to  do  than  they've  ever  done  yet, 
old  hoss/  Rube  said;  'at  any  rate,  they've  got  a  good 
thirty  miles  to  do  to-night.'  'Are  you  in  earnest,  Rube?' 
said  I.  'Never  more  so/  said  he.  'All  we've  got  to  do 
is  to  get  away,  and  then  tramp  it.'  'How  do  you  mean 
to  get  away,  Rube?'  'Easy  enough/  Rube  said  care- 
lessly. 'Get  our  hands  loose  first,  then  our  legs,  then 
kill  them  fellows  and  make  tracks.'  Now  it  ain't  very 
often  that  I  larf  out.  I  don't  suppose  I've  larfed  right 
out  three  times  since  I  was  a  boy;  but  Rube's  coolness 
tickled  me  so  that  I  larfed  out  like  a  hyena.  When  I 
began,  Rube  he  began;  and  when  he  larfed  it  was  tre- 
mendous. I  don't  think  Rube  knew  what  I  war  larfin* 
at;  but  he  told  me  afterward  he  larfed  to  see  me  larf, 
which,  in  all  the  time  we  had  been  together,  he  hadn't 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  83 

seen.  What  made  us  larf  worse  was  that  the  Mexicans 
were  so  startled  that  they  seized  their  rifles  and  rushed 
to  the  doorway,  and  stood  looking  at  us  as  if  we  were 
wild  beasts.  Keeping  the  guns  pointed  at  us,  they 
walked  round  very  carefully,  and  felt  our  cords  to  see 
that  they  were  all  right;  and  finding  they  were,  went 
back  into  the  next  room,  savage  and  rather  scared.  Our 
larfing  made  them  terribly  uneasy,  I  could  see;  and  they 
had  an  idea  we  couldn't  have  larfed  like  that  if  we 
hadn't  some  idea  of  getting  away.  When  we  had  done  I 
said:  'Now,  Rube,  tell  me  what  you  have  planned  out, 
that  is,  if  you're  downright  in  arnest.'  'In  arnest!' 
says  he,  almost  angry;  'of  course  I'm  in  arnest.  Do  you 
think  I'm  going  to  be  fool  enough  to  stop  here  to  be 
frizzled  and  sliced  by  that  El  Zeres  to-morrow?  No,  it's 
just  as  I  said:  we  must  get  our  hands  free;  we  must  kill 
all  these  fellows,  and  be  off.'  'But  how  are  we  to  get 
our  hands  free,  Rube?'  'That's  the  only  point  I  can't 
make  out,'  he  said.  'If  these  fellows  would  leave  us 
alone,  it  would  be  easy  enough;  we  could  gnaw  through 
each  other's  thongs  in  ten  minutes;  but  they  won't  let 
us  do  that.  All  the  rest  is  easy  enough.  Just  think  it 
over,  Seth.'  I  did  think  it  over,  but  I  did  not  see  my 
way  to  getting  rid  of  our  thongs.  That  done,  the  rest 
was  possible  enough.  If  we  could  get  hold  of  a  couple 
of  rifles  and  take  them  by  surprise,  so  as  to  clear  off  four 
or  five  before  they  could  get  fairly  on  their  legs,  I  had 
little  doubt  that  we  could  manage  the  rest.  No  doubt 
they  would  shut  the  door  as  it  got  later,  and  it  was  pos- 
sible that  the  row  might  not  be  heard.  If  that  was 
managed,  I  was  sure  we  could  crawl  through  the  lines 
and  get  off.  Yes,  it  was  straightforward  enough  if  we 
could  but  get  rid  of  our  cords.  As  I  was  thinking  it 
over  my  eye  fell  upon  the  pan  of  water.  An  idea  came 
across  me.  'I  don't  know,  Rube,  that  it  would  stretch 


84  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

them  enough  to  slip  our  hands  out,  but  if  we  could  wet 
these  hide  thongs  by  dipping  them  in  water,  we  might 
stretch  them  a  bit,  anyhow,  and  ease  them.'  'That 
would  be  something,  Seth,  anyhow.'  We  shuffled  by 
turn,  next  to  the  pan,  and  leaned  back  so  that  our  wrists 
were  fairly  in  the  water.  The  water  relieved  the  pain, 
and  I  could  feel  the  thongs  give  a  little,  but  it  was  only  a 
little;  they  had  been  tied  too  carefully  and  well  to 
render  it  possible  to  unloose  them.  We  came  to  this 
conclusion  after  an  hour's  straining,  and  at  the  cost  of  no 
little  pain.  We  agreed  it  was  no  use,  and  sat  thinking 
over  what  was  the  next  thing  to  do,  and  taking  it  by 
turns  to  cool  our  wrists.  We  did  not  altogether  give  up 
hope,  as  we  agreed  that  we  must  try,  in  the  short  inter- 
vals between  the  visits  of  the  Mexicans,  to  untie  the 
knots  of  each  other's  cords  with  our  teeth.  It  was  pos- 
sible, anyhow,  for  the  knots  would  draw  pretty  easy  now 
that  the  leather  was  wet.  Suddenly  an  idea  struck  me. 
I  squeezed  myself  back  to  the  wall,  and  leaned  against 
it.  'It's  all  right,  Rube,'  said  I;  'our  cords  are  as  good 
as  off.'  'How's  that?'  said  Rube.  'This  wall  is  made 
of  rough  stones,  Rube,  and  there  are  plenty  of  sharp 
edges  sticking  out  through  the  mud.  They  will  cut 
through  these  wet  thongs  like  knives.'  'Hoorah!' 
shouted  Rube  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  with  a  yell  that 
startled  the  Mexicans  from  their  seats  again,  and  then 
he  commenced  thundering  out  one  of  the  songs  the  sol- 
diers used  to  sing  on  the  march.  Several  Mexicans  came 
running  up  from  the  camp  to  ask  if  anything  was  the 
matter,  Rube's  yell  having  reached  their  ears.  They 
were  told  it  was  only  those  mad  Americanos  amusing 
themselves,  and  with  many  angry  threats  of  the  different 
sort  of  yells  we  should  give  next  day,  they  sauntered  off 
again.  'That's  rather  a  good  thing,'  Rube  said  to  ma 
when  he  stopped  making  a  noise.  'If  any  sound  of  the 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  85 

little  fight  we  are  going  to  have  here  reaches  the  camp, 
they  will  put  it  down  to  us  shouting  for  our  amusement.' 
By  this  time  it  had  become  perfectly  dark,  and  the  guard 
lighted  a  fire  in  the  middle  of  the  room  in  which  they 
sat.  A  pile  of  wood  had  been  brought  in  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  when  the  smoke  had  a  little  abated,  the  door 
was  shut  and  barred.  Every  three  or  four  minutes  one 
of  the  men  would  take  a  lighted  brand  and  come  in  to 
see  that  we  were  not  near  to  each  other,  and  that  all  was 
secure.  'What  time  shall  we  begin,  Seth?'  Rube  asked. 
'In  another  hour  or  so,'  I  said;  'by  eight.  They  will  be 
gambling  and  quarreling  round  the  fire  by  nine  o'clock; 
and  the  talk,  and  the  noise  of  the  horses,  will  prevent 
them  hearing  anything  here.  We  must  not  think  of 
going  out  for  two  hours  later,  and  even  then  they  won't 
be  all  asleep;  but  we  dare  not  put  it  off  later,  for  El 
Zeres  may  come  back  earlier  than  he  said  he  should,  and 
if  he  does  it's  all  up  with  us.  Let's  arrange  our  plans 
for  good,'  I  said,  'and  then  we  can  each  sit  up  against  a 
corner  and  pretend  to  go  to  sleep.  When  I  am  going  to 
cut  my  cord  I  will  give  a  very  little  cough,  and  then  you 
do  the  same  when  you  are  free.  We  had  better  do  that 
before  very  long,  for  you  will  be  a  long  time  before  you 
will  get  any  feeling  in  your  feet.  Rub  them  as  hard  as 
you  can;  but  you  can't  do  that  till  you  get  the  use  of 
your  hands.  When  you  are  quite  ready,  snore  gently; 
I'll  answer  in  the  same  way  if  I  am  ready.  Then  we  will 
keep  quiet  till  the  fellow  comes  in  again,  and  the  mo- 
ment he  is  gone  let  us  both  creep  forward:  choose  a  time 
when  the  fire  is  burning  low.  You  creep  round  your 
side  of  the  room;  I  will  keep  mine,  till  we  meet  in  the 
corner  where  the  rifles  are  piled.  We  must  then  open 
the  pans,  and  shake  all  the  powder  out,  and,  when  that 
is  done,  each  take  hold  of  one  by  the  barrel  and  hit.  Do 
you  quite  understand  and  agree?'  'Quite,  Seth.  Is 


86  0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

there  anything  else?'  'Yes/  I  said;  'you  take  the  door, 
I  will  take  the  corner  where  the  arms  are.  We  must  try 
and  keep  them  from  coming  within  arm's  reach  to  use 
their,  knives;  but  if  either  of  us  are  hard  pressed  he  must 
call,  and  the  other  must  come  to  him.'  'All  right,  old 
boss,  I  lon,g  to  be  at  work.'  'So  do  I,'  I  said.  'And 
now  don't  let's  ,have  any  more  talk;  shut  your  eyes,  and 
keep  quiet  till  I  cough.'  The  men  were  engaged  now  in 
talking  over  the  $eed&  in  which  they  had  been  engaged, 
and  so  revolting  and  cold-blooded  were  the  atrocities  of 
which  .they  .boasted  that  I  longed  for  the  time  when 
Rube  and  I  should  fall  upon  them.  In  half  an  hour  I 
gave  the  signal.  I  had  picked  out  a  sharp  stone  in  a 
convenient  .position,  an$  it  was  not  a  minute  before  I 
felt  the  coil  of  cords  Joosen  with  a  sudden  jerk,  and 
knew  that  I  was  free.  I  found  my  hands  were  com- 
pletely numbed,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  re- 
store the  circulation.  It  must  have  been  a  good  half- 
hour  before  Rube  gave  the  signal  that  he  had  got  the 
cords  that  bound  his  ankles  loosened,  as  of  course  he 
could  not  begin  at  them  until  he  had  the  free  use  of  his 
hands.  As  I  had  anticipated,  the  visits  of  our  guards 
were  rather  less  frequent  now  that  they  believed  us  to  be 
asjeep.  Fortunately,  the  din  and  talk  in  the  next  room 
was  now  loud  and  incessant,  which  enabled  Rube  to  rub, 
and  even  stamp  his  feet.a  little.  In  half  an  hour  I  heard 
a  snore,  which  I  answered.  The  moment  the  next  visit 
was  over  I  crawled  to  the  door,  and  then,  lying  pretty 
nigh  on  my  stomach,  crept  round  to  where  the  rifles  were 
piled.  The  fire  was  brirning  low,  and  the  guard  were 
sitting  so  closely  round  it  that  the  lower  part  of  the 
room  was  in/black  shadow;  so  that,  though  I  was  looking 
out  for  Rube,  I  didn't  see  him  till  he  was  close  enough  to 
touch  me.  It  was  a  delicate  job  opening  all  the  pans, 
but  we  did  it  without  making  as  much  noise  as  would 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  87 

•care  a  deer,  and  then,  each  taking  a  rifle  by  the  barrel, 
we  were  ready.  Pedro  was  just  telling  a  story  of  how  he 
had  forced  an  old  man  to  say  where  his  money  was  hid, 
by  torturing  his  daughters  before  his  eyes,  and  how, 
•when  he  had  told  his  secret,  and  the  money  was  ob- 
tained, he  had  fastened  them  up,  and  set  the  house 
alight — a  story  which  was  received  with  shouts  of  ap- 
proving laughter.  As  he  finished  down  came  the  butt 
of  Rube's  rifle  on  his  head  with  a  squelch,  while  mina  did 
the  same  on  the  head  of  the  next  man.  For  an  instant 
there  was  a  pause  of  astonishment,  for  no  one  knew 
exactly  what  had  happened;  then  there  was  a  wild  yell 
of  surprise  and  fear,  as  our  rifles  came  down  again  with 
a  crashing  thud.  All  leaped  to  their  feet,  the  man  I 
aimed  my  next  blow  at  rolling  over,  and  just  escaping  it. 
Kube  was  more  lucky,  and  just  got  his  man  as  he  was 
rising.  'Hoorah!  Seth,'  he  shouted,  'five  down  out  of 
eleven/  We  drew  back  now  to  our  posts  as  agreed  on, 
and  the  Mexicans  drawing  their  knives,  made  a  rush  for- 
ward. They  ain't  cowards,  the  Mexicans — I  will  say 
that  for  them;  and  when  these  fellows  found  they  were 
caught  like  rats  in  a  trap,  they  fought  desperately.  They 
knew  there  was  no  mercy  to  expect  from  Rube  and  me. 
They  divided,  and  three  came  at  each  of  us.  Two  went 
down  as  if  they  were  shot,  and  I  was  just  whirling  my 
rifle  for  another  blow,  when  I  heard  a  crash,  and  then  a 
shout  from  Rube,  'Help,  Seth!'  I  saw  at  once  what  had 
happened.  Rube's  rifle,  as  he  was  making  a  blow  at  a 
man,  had  struck  a  beam  over  his  head,  and  the  shock  had 
made  it  fly  from  his  hands  across  the  room.  In  another 
moment  the  two  Mexicans  were  upon  him  with  their 
knives.  He  hit  out  wildly,  but  he  got  a  gash  across  the 
forehead  and  another  on  the  arm  in  a  moment.  I  made 
two  strides  across  the  hut,  and  the  Mexicans  who  were 
attacking  me,  instead  of  trying  to  prevent  me,  made  a 


88  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

rush  to  the  corner  where  their  rifles  were,  which  I  had  left 
unguarded.  It  was  a  fatal  mistake.  My  gun  came  down 
crash  upon  the  head  o2  one  of  Rube's  assailants  Before 
he  knew  of  my  approach,  and  another  minute  did  for  the 
second.  As  I  turned  from  him  the  remaining  two  Mexi- 
cans leveled  at  Rube,  who  had  rushed  across  to  pick  up 
his  gun,  and  myself,  and  gave  a  cry  as  the  flints  fell  and 
there  was  no  report.  For  a  minute  or  two  they  fought 
desperately  with  the  guns;  but  it  was  no  use,  and  it  was 
soon  over,  and  we  stood  the  masters  of  the  hut,  with 
eleven  dead  men  round  us.  For  they  were  dead  every 
one,  for  we  examined  them.  The  stocks  of  our  guns  had 
broken  with  the  first  blow,  and  the  rest  had  been  given 
with  the  iron,  and  in  no  case  had  we  to  hit  twice.  I 
don't  say  it  was  anything  like  Samson  and  the  donkey's 
jaw-bone  you  were  telling  me  about,  but  it  war  very  fair 
hitting.  It  was  scarcely  over  when  we  heard  several  men 
come  running  up  outside.  'Is  anything  the  matter, 
Pedro?  "We  thought  we  heard  a  yell.'  'No,  nothing/  I 
said,  imitating  Pedro's  gruff  voice,  which  I  felt  sure  they 
would  not  know  through  the  door;  'it's  only  these  mad 
Americanos  yelling.'  The  men  were  apparently  quite 
satisfied  with  the  explanation,  for  in  a  minute  or  two  we 
heard  their  voices  receding,  and  then  all  became  still. 
Presently  we  opened  the  door  and  looked  out.  Many  of 
the  fires  had  begun  to  burn  low,  but  round  others  there 
was  still  a  sound  of  laughing  and  singing.  'Another 
hour,'  Rube  said,  'and  they  will  all  be  asleep.'  We  threw 
some  more  wood  on  the  fire,  took  some  tobacco  and 
cigarette  paper  from  the  pocket  of  one  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  sat  down  to  smoke  comfortably.  We  were  both 
plaguey  anxious,  and  couldn't  pretend  we  warn't,  for  at 
any  moment  that  rascal  El  Zeres  might  arrive,  and  then 
it  would  be  all  up  with  us.  At  last  we  agreed  that  we 
could  not  stand  it  any  longer,  and  made  up  our  minds  to 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  89 

go  outside  and  sit  down  against  the  wall  of  the  hut  till 
it  was  safe  to  make  a  start,  and  then  if  we  heard  horses 
coming  in  the  distance  we  could  make  a  move  at  once. 
We  each  took  a  hat  and  cloak,  a  brace  of  pistols,  and  a 
rifle,  and  went  out.  There  we  sat  for  another  hour,  till 
the  camp  got  quiet  enough  to  make  the  attempt.  Even 
then  we  could  hear  by  the  talking  that  many  of  the  men 
were  still  awake,  but  we  dared  not  wait  any  longer,  for 
we  calculated  that  it  must  be  near  eleven  o'clock  already. 
We  chose  a  place  where  the  fires  had  burned  lowest,  and 
where  everything  was  quiet,  and,  crawling  along  upon 
the  ground,  we  were  soon  down  among  the  horses.  We 
had  been  too  long  among  the  Indians  to  have  a  bit  of 
fear  about  getting  through  these  fellows;  and,  lying  on 
our  faces  we  crawled  along,  sometimes  almost  touching 
them,  for  they  lay  very  close  together,  but  making  no 
more  noise  than  two  big  snakes.  A  quarter  of  an  hour 
of  this  and  we  were  through  them,  and  far  enough  out 
on  the  plain  to  be  able  to  get  up  on  to  our  feet  and  break 
into  a  long  stride.  Ten  more  minutes  and  we  broke  into 
a  run:  there  was  no  fear  now  of  our  steps  being  heard. 
'Done  them,  by  thunder!'  Kube  said;  'won't  El  Zeres 
curse?'  We  might  have  been  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
camp,  when  in  the  quiet  night  air  we  heard  the  sound  of 
the  howl  of  a  dog.  We  both  stopped  as  if  we  were  shot. 
'Thunder!'  Rube  exclaimed  furiously,  'if  we  haven't  for- 
got the  bloodhound.'  I  knew  what  Rube  meant,  for  it 
was  a  well-known  matter  of  boast  of  El  Zeres  that  no  one 
could  ever  escape  him,  for  that  his  bloodhound  would 
track  them  to  the  end  of  the  world.  'There's  only  one 
thing  to  be  done,'  I  said;  'we  must  go  back  and  kill  that 
critter.'  'Wait,  Seth,'  Rube  said;  'we  don't  know  where 
the  darned  brute  is  kept.  He  warn't  up  at  the  hut,  and 
we  might  waste  an  hour  in  finding  him,  and  when  we 
did,  he  ain't  a  critter  to  be  wiped  out  like  a  babby.'  'We 


90  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

must  risk  it,  Rube.'  I  said.  'It's  all  up  with  us  if  he's  once 
put  on  our  track.'  Rube  made  no  answer,  and  we  turned 
toward  the  camp.  We  hadn't  gone  twenty  yards  when 
Eube  said,  'Listen.'  I  listened,  and  sure  enough  I  could 
hear  out  on  the  plain  ahead  a  low  trampling.  There  was 
no  need  of  any  more  talk.  We  ran  forward  as  hard  as  we 
could  go,  turning  a  little  out  of  our  course  to  let  the 
horsemen  who  were  coming  pass  us.  'In  another  quarter 
of  an  hour  they'll  know  all  about  it,  Rube.  It  will  take 
them  as  much  more  to  get  ready  and  put  the  dog  on  the 
track.  They'll  have  some  trouble  in  getting  him  to  take 
up  our  scent  with  all  that  blood  in  the  room.  I  should 
say  we  may  fairly  reckon  on  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
before  they're  well  out  of  the  camp.'  'That's  about  it,' 
Rube  said.  'They  will  have  to  tie  the  dog,  so  as  not  to 
lose  Mm  in  the  darkness.  They  won't  gain  on  us  very 
fast  for  the  next  two  hours;  we  can  keep  this  up  for  that 
at  a  pinch;  After  that,  if  we  don't  strike  water,  we  are 
done  for.'  'We  passed  a  stream  yesterday,  Rube;  how 
far  was  it  back  ?'  'About  an  hour  after  daylight.  Yes, 
nearly  three  hours  from  camp.  But  we  are  going  faster 
now  than  we  did  then.  We  ought  to  do  it  in  two  hours.' 
After  this  we  didn't  say  any  more.  We  wanted  all  our 
breath.  It  was  well  for  us  we  had  both  been  tramping 
half  our  lives,  and  that  our  legs  had  saved  our  necks 
more  times  than  once  on  the  prairies.  We  were  both 
pretty  confident  we  could  run  sixteen  miles  in  two  hours. 
But  we  dared  not  run  straight.  We  knew  that  if  they 
found  we  were  keeping  a  line,  they  would  let  the  dog  go 
their  best  pace  and  gallop  alongside;  so  we  had  to  zig- 
zag, sometimes  going  almost  back  upon  our  own  track. 
We  did  not  do  this  so  often  as  we  should  have  done  if  we 
had  had  more  time." 

"But  how  did  you  know  which  way  to  go,  Seth/* 
Hubert  asked. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  91 

"We  went  by  the  stars,"  Seth  said.  "It  was  easier 
than  it  would  have  been  by  day,  for  when  the  sun's  right 
overhead,  it  ain't  a  very  straightforward  matter  to  know 
how  you  are  going;  but  there  would  be  no  difficulty  then 
to  scouts  like  Rube  and  me.  Well,  we  had  run,  maybe, 
an  hour  and  a  quarter  when  we  heard  a  faint,  short  bark 
far  behind.  'The  brute  is  on  our  trail/  Eube  said;  'they 
haven't  given  us  so  much  start  as  I  looked  for.  Another 
half-hour  and  he  will  be  at  our  heels  sure  enough.'  I 
felt  this  was  true,  and  felt  very  bad-like  for  a  bit.  In 
another  quarter  of  an  hour  the  bark  was  a  good  bit 
nearer,  and  we  couldn't  go  no  faster  than  we  were  going. 
All  of  a  sudden  I  said  to  Rube,  'Rube,  I've  heard  them 
dogs  lose  their  smell  if  they  taste  blood.  Let's  try  it; 
it's  our  only  chance.  Here,  give  me  a  cut  in  the  arm,  I 
can  spare  it  better  than  you  can;  you  lost  a  lot  to-night 
from  that  cut.'  We  stopped  a  minute.  I  tore  off  the 
sleeve  of  my  hunting  shirt,  and  then  Rube  gave  me  a  bit 
of  a  cut  on  the  arm.  I  let  the  blood  run  till  the  sleeve 
was  soaked  and  dripping,  then  Rube  tore  off-a  strip  from 
his  shirt  and  bandaged  my  arm  up  tight.  We  rolled  the 
sleeve  in  a  ball  and  threw  it  down,  then  took  a  turn, 
made  a  zigzag  or  two  to  puzzle  the  brute,  and  then  went 
on  our  line  again.  For  another  ten  minutes  we  could 
hear  the  barking  get  nearer  and  nearer,  and  then  it 
stopped  all  of  a  sudden.  On  we  went,  and  it  was  half  an 
hour  again  before  we  heard  it,  and  then  it  was  a  long 
way  off.  'I  expect  we're  all  right  now,  Seth,'  Rube  said. 
'I  guess  we  are,'  I  said;  'but  the  sooner  we  strike  water 
the  better  I  shall  be  pleased.'  It  was  nigh  another 
half-hour,  and  we  were  both  pretty  nigh  done,  when  we 
came  upon  the  stream,  and  the  dog  couldn't  have  been 
more  than  a  mile  off.  It  was  a  bit  of  a  thing  five  or  six 
yards  wide,  and  a  foot  or  two  deep  in  the  middle, 
k* Which  way?'  says  Rube.  'Tip's  our  nearest  way,  so  we 


92  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

had  better  go  down.'  'No,  no,'  says  I;  'they're  sure  to 
suspect  that  we  shall  try  the  wrong  course  to  throw 
them  off,  so  let's  take  the  right.'  Without  another  word 
up  stream  we  went,  as  hard  as  we  could  run.  In  a  few 
minutes  we  heard  the  dog  stop  barking,  when  we  might 
have  been  half  a  mile  up  stream.  'We  must  get  out  of 
this,  Eube,'  I  said.  'Whichever  way  they  try  with  the 
dog,  they  are  safe  to  send  horsemen  both  ways.'  'Which 
side  shall  we  get  out,  Seth?'  'It  don't  matter,'  I  said; 
'it's  all  a  chance  which  side  they  take  the  dog.  Let's 
take  our  own  side.'  Out  we  got;  and  we  hadn't  ran  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  before  we  heard  a  tramping  of  horses 
coming  along  by  the  stream.  We  stopped  to  listen,  for 
we  knew  if  they  had  the  dog  with  them,  and  if  he  was 
on  our  side  of  the  river,  we  were  as  good  as  dead.  'If 
they  take  the  trail,  Seth,'  Rube  said,  'it's  all  up  with 
•us.  Don't  let's  run  any  more.  We  are  men  enough  to 
shoot  the  four  first  who  come  up,  and  I  only  hope  one  of 
them  may  be  El  Zeres;  that'll  leave  us  a  pistol  each,  and 
we  will  keep  them  for  ourselves.  Better  do  that,  by  a 
long  way,  than  be  pulled  to  pieces  with  hot  pincers/ 
'A  long  way,  Rube,'  I  said.  'That's  agreed,  then. 
When  I  give  the  word,  put  the  barrel  against  your  eye 
and  fire;  that's  a  pretty  safe  shot.'  As  the  Mexicans  got 
to  the  place  where  we  had  got  out,  we  stopped  and  held 
our  breath.  There  was  no  pause — on  they  went;  another 
minute,  and  we  felt  certain  they  had  passed  the  spot. 
'Saved,  by  thunder!'  Rube  said;  and  we  turned  and  went 
off  at  a  steady  trot  that  we  could  keep  up  for  hours. 
'How  long  shall  we  get,  do  you  think,  Seth?'  'That  all 
depends  how  long  they  follow  down  stream.  They  can't 
tell  how  far  we  are  ahead.  I  should  think  they  will  go 
two  miles  down;  then  they  will  cross  the  stream  and 
.cpme  back;  and  if  they  don't  happen  to  be  on  the  right 
side  of  the  stream  as  they  pass  where  we  got  out,  they 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  9S 

go  up  another  two  or  three  miles,  and  near  as  much 
down,  before  they  strike  the  trail.  We're  pretty  safe  of 
half  an  hour's  start,  and  we  might  get,  if  we're  lucky, 
near  an  hour.  We  ain't  safe  yet,  Eube,  by  a  long  way. 
It's  near  thirty  miles  from  Pepita's  to  the  camp.  We've 
come  sixteen  of  it  good — eighteen  I  should  say;  we  have 
got  another  twelve  to  the  road,  and  we  ain't  safe  then. 
No;  our  only  chance  is  to  come  across  a  hacienda  and 
get  horses.  There  are  a  good  many  scattered  about;  but 
it's  so  dark  we  might  pass  within  fifty  yards  and  not  see 
it.  There  won't  be  a  streak  of  daylight  till  four,  and  it 
ain't  two  yet.'  'Not  far  off,  Seth.'  By  this  time  we  had 
got  our  wind  again,  and  quickened  up  into  a  fast  swing; 
but  our  work  had  told  on  us,  and  we  couldn't  have  gone 
much  over  seven  miles  an  hour.  Several  times,  as  we 
went  on,  we  could  hear  a  trampling  in  the  dark,  and 
knew  that  we  had  scared  some  horses;  but  though  we 
had  a  lasso  we  had  brought  with  us,  we  might  as  well 
have  tried  to  catch  a  bird  with  it.  In  an  hour  we  heard 
the  dog  again,  but  it  was  a  long  way  behind.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  now  but  hard  running,  and  we  were  still 
seven  miles  from  the  road,  and  even  that  didn't  mean, 
safety.  I  began  to  think  we  were  going  to  lose  the  race> 
after  all.  In  another  quarter  of  an  hour  we  stopped 
suddenly.  'Thunder!'  said  Eube;  'what's  that?'  Some 
animal,  that  had  been  lying  down,  got  up  just  in  front 
of  us.  'It's  a  horse!  Your  lasso,  Eube!'  Eube,  how- 
ever, had  made  a  tremendous  rush  forward,  and,  before 
the  animal  could  stretch  himself  into  a  gallop,  had  got 
close,  and  grasped  him  by  the  mane.  'It's  no  go,'  Eube 
said,  as  the  horse  made  a  step  forward;  'he's  an  old  un, 
dead  lame.'  'Don't  leave  go,  Eube,'  I  said.  'He'll  da 
for  our  turn.'  He  was  a  miserable  old  beast,  but  I  felt 
that  he  would  do  as  well  as  the  best  horse  in  the  world 
for  us.  Eube  saw  my  meaning,  and  in  a  minute  we  were 


94  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

both  astride  on  his  back.  He  tottered,  and  I  thought 
he'd  have  gone  down  on  his  head.  Kicking  weren't  of 
no  good;  so  I  out  with  my  knife  and  gave  him  a  prod, 
and  off  we  went.  It  weren't  far,  some  two  hundred  yards 
or  so,  but  it  was  the  way  I  wanted  him,  right  across  the 
line  we  were  going.  Then  down  he  tumbled.  'All 
right/  said  I.  'You've  done  your  work,  old  man;  but 
you  mustn't  lay  here,  or  they  may  light  upon  you  and 
guess  what's  been  up.'  So  we  lugged  him  on  to  his  feet, 
gave  him  another  prod,  which  sent  him  limping  off;  and 
on  we  went  on  our  course,  sure  that  we  were  at  last  safe, 
for  we  had  thrown  the  bloodhound  altogether  off  our 
trail.  For  a  mile  or  so  we  kept  right  away  from  our 
course,  for  fear  that  they  should  keep  straight  on,  and, 
missing  the  scent,  lead  the  dog  across  the  trail,  and  so 
pick  it  up  again;  then  we  turned  and  made  straight  for 
the  road.  'I  don't  think,  Rube,'  I  said  after  awhile, 
'that  we  shall  strike  the  road  far  off  where  we  left  it  at 
Pepita's.'  'No,  I  expect  not,  Seth.  We  had  better  bear 
a  little  more  to  the  south,  for  they  will  most  likely  make 
for  Pepita's,  and  day  will  soon  be  breaking  now/  'We'd 
better  not  strike  the  road  at  all,  Rube;  likely  enough, 
they  will  follow  it  down  for  a  few  miles  in  hopes  of  pick- 
ing us  up.'  'I  hope  they  will,'  Rube  said;  'and  I  expect 
so.  Won't  it  be  a  lark,  just?'  'What  do  you  mean, 
Rube?'  'Mean?  Why,  didn't  the  Cap  tell  us  to  leave 
San  Miguel  before  daybreak,  and  to  ride  to  meet  him? 
It  warn't  likely  that  he  meant  us  to  ride  more  than  ten 
miles  or  so;  so  that  he  will  be  within  that  distance  of  San 
Miguel  by  an  hour  after  daybreak,  and  will  be  at  Pepita's 
half  an  hour  later.  If  them  fellows  ride  on,  they  are 
safe  to  fall  into  as  nice  a  trap  as — '  'Jehoshophat!'  said 
I.  'You're  right,  Rube.  Let's  make  tracks.  It  can't 
be  more  than  another  four  or  five  miles  to  the  road,  and 
day  will  break  in  half  an  hour,'  'How  strong  do  you 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  95 

reckon  them,  Seth?'  'Fifty  or  sixty/  said  I,  'by  the 
regular  sound  of  the  horses.'  'That's  about  what  I 
guessed,'  Eube  said.  'There  are  forty  of  our  chaps,  and 
they  will  be  fresh.  We'll  give  'em  goss.' 

"We  had  now  long  ceased  to  hear  the  baying  of  the 
dog,  which  had  been  most  unpleasantly  clear  when  we 
got  off  the  old  hoss  that  had  done  us  such  a  good  turn. 
We  made  sure,  too,  that  we  were  well  ahead,  for  they 
would  likely  wait  an  hour  in  trying  to  pick  up  the  trail 
again.  Daylight  came  at  last;  and  when  it  was  light 
enough  to  see  we  stopped  and  took  a  look  from  a  slight 
rise,  and  there,  across  the  plain,  we  could  see  the  road 
just  where  we  expected.  Nothing  was  moving  upon  it, 
nor,  looking  back,  could  we  see  any  sign  of  the  Mexi- 
cans. Away  to  the  left,  a  mile  or  so,  we  could  see  a 
clump  of  trees,  and  something  like  the  roof  of  a  house 
among  them.  This,  we  had  no  doubt,  was  Pepita's. 
About  a  mile  down  the  road  the  other  way  was  a  biggish 
•wood,  through  which  the  road  ran.  'Let's  make  for 
that  wood,  Kube,  and  wait;  the  Cap  will  be  up  in 
another  half-hour,  and  it  ain't  likely  the  Mexicans  will 
be  along  much  before  that.  They're  likely  to  stop  for  a 
drink  at  Pepita's.'  In  another  ten  minutes  we  were  in 
shelter  in  the  wood,  taking  care  not  to  get  upon  the 
road,  in  case  the  Mexicans  should  come  along  with  the 
hound  before  our  men.  We  hadn't  been  there  twenty 
minutes  before  we  both  heard  a  trampling  of  horses;  but 
it  was  a  minute  or  two  more  before  we  could  decide  which 
way  they  were  coming.  At  last,  to  our  great  comfort, 
we  found  it  was  the  right  way.  Just  before  they  came 
up  I  had  an  idea  I  caught  a  sound  from  the  other  [way, 
but  I  couldn't  have  sworn  to  it.  We  lay  till  the  troop 
came  fairly  up,  as  it  might  be  another  party  of  Mexicans; 
but  it  was  all  right,  and  we  jumped  out,  with  a  cheer, 
into  the  middle  of  them.  Mighty  surprised  they  were  to 


96  0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

see  us,  on  foot,  and  all  dust  and  sweat.  Rube's  face, 
too,  was  tied  up;  and  altogether  we  didn't  look  quite 
ourselves.  They  all  began  to  talk  at  once;  but  I  held  up 
rny  hand  urgent,  and  when  they  saw  it  was  something 
particular  they  shut  up,  and  I  said  to  the  Cap:  'Don't 
ask  no  questions,  Cap;  I'll  tell  you  all  arterwards.  Ei 
Zeres  with  about  fifty  of  his  men  will  be  here  in  about 
three  minutes,  I  reckon.  They've  ridden  thirty  miles, 
and  the  beasts  ain't  fresh;  so  it's  your  own  fault  if  one 
gets  away.'  The  Cap  didn't  waste  a  moment  in  words. 
He  ordered  half  his  men  to  ride  back  two  hundred 
yards,  and  to  charge  when  they  heard  his  whistle;  and  he 
and  the  rest  turned  off  into  the  wood,  which  was  very 
thick,  and  screened  'em  from  any  one  passing.  Rube 
and  I,  not  having  horses,  were  no  good  for  a  charge;  so 
we  went  on  in  the  wood,  as  near  as  we  could  guess,  half- 
way between  them,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  jump  out  and 
join  in  the  skrimmage.  It  all  takes  some  time  to  tell, 
Iwt  it  didn't  take  two  minutes  to  do,  and  in  another 
minute  we  could  hear  the  Mexicans  close.  On  they 
came:  we  knew  now  that  they  had  passed  the  Cap,  and 
•we  clutched  our  rifles  tight  and  peered  out  through  the 
leaves.  On  they  came,  and  we  could  see  El  Zeres  riding 
first,  with  the  bloodhound  trotting  along  by  the  side  of 
his  horse.  Just  as  he  was  opposite  we  heard  a  loud, 
shrill  whistle,  and  the  Mexicans  halted  with  a  look  of 
uneasiness.  They  weren't  left  to  wonder  long,  for  in  a 
moment  there  was  a  trampling  of  horses,  and  down  came 
our  fellows  on  both  sides  of  them.  Just  before  they  got 
up  we  stepped  forward  with  our  rifles  up.  'El  Zeres!' 
Rube  shouted,  and  startled  as  the  Mexican  was,  he  looked 
round.  He  had  just  time  to  see  who  it  was,  when 
Rube's  ball  hit  him  in  the  head,  and  down  he  went  as 
dead  as  a  stone.  The  hound  turned  and  came  right  at 
us  with  a  deep  growl  of  rage.  I  sent  a  ball  through  his 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  97 

chest  and  rolled  him  over,  and  just  as  I  did  so  our  fel- 
lows came  down  upon  the  Mexicans.  It  was  a  fierce 
fight,  for  the  Mexicans  were  in  a  trap,  and  knew  that 
there  was  no  mercy  for  them.  Rube  and  I  sprang  out, 
and  paid  a  good  many  of  'em  off  for  the  scare  they  had 
given  us.  We  wiped  them  right  out  to  the  last  man, 
losing  only  six  ourselves.  I  don't  know  as  ever  I  see  a 
better  skrimmage  while  it  lasted.  After  it  was  over 
Robe  and  I  mounted  two  of  their  horses,  and  rode  on 
with  the  rest  of  them  to  San  Miguel;  but  before  we 
started  off  we  told  our  story  to  the  Cap,  and  he  sent  a 
couple  of  men  back  with  a  dispatch  to  the  general,  asking 
for  five  hundred  men  to  destroy  El  Zeres'  band  at  a  blow. 
"We  stopped  at  Pepita's,  and  I  never  see  a  girl  have  a 
much  worse  scare  than  we  gave  her.  She  made  sure  it 
was  El  Zeres,  and  came  running  out  to  see  if  he  had 
caught  us;  and  when  she  found  that  she  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Rangers,  and  that  we  were  among  them, 
she  was  as  white  as  a  shirt  in  a  minute.  She  was  plucky 
enough,  though;  for  as  soon  as  she  could  get  her 
tongue  she  cursed  us  like  a  wild  woman.  I  expect  she 
made  sure  we  should  have  shot  her  for  her  treachery — 
and  a  good  many  of  our  bands  would  have  done  so  right 
on  end — but  the  Rangers  never  touched  women.  How- 
ever, she  warn't  to  go  scot  free;  so  we  got  fire,  and  set 
the  house  and  stable  in  a  blaze.  As  we  rode  off  Rube 
shouted  out,  'If  you  change  your  mind  again  about  com- 
ing with  me  to  Missouri,  you  just  drop  me  a  line,  Pepita.' 
I  thought,  as  I  looked  at  her,  it  was  lucky  for  Rube  she 
hadn't  a  rifle  in  her  hand;  she'd  have  shot  him  if  she 
had  been  hung  for  it  a  minute  afterward.  We  rode  on  to 
San  Miguel,  took  Colonel  Cabra  prisoner,  with  his  papers, 
and  sent  him  back  under  an  escort.  At  dusk  the  same 
day  we  got  on  our  horses  and  rode  back  to  where  Pepita's 
house  had  stood,  and  where  our  captain  expected  the 


98  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

troops  he  had  sent  for.  In  half  an  hour  they  came  up. 
They  had  a  couple  of  hours  to  rest  their  horses,  and  then 
Rube  and  I  led  them  straight  to  the  Mexican  camp.  No 
doubfc  they  heard  us  coming  when  we  were  close,  but 
made  sure  it  was  El  Zeres,  and  so  didn't  disturb  them- 
selves; and  it  warn't  till  we  had  wheeled  round  and  fairly 
surrounded  them  that  they  smelt  a  rat.  But  it  was  too 
late  then,  for  in  another  minute  we  were  down  upon 
them,  and  I  don't  believe  twenty  out  of  the  whole  lot  got 
away.  It  was,  altogether,  one  of  the  most  successful 
businesses  in  the  whole  war.  And  I  think  that's  about 
all  the  story." 

"Oh,  thank  you  very  much,  Seth.  It  is  a  most  excit- 
ing story.  And  what  became  of  Rube?" 

"Rube  married  a  year  after  we  got  back  to  the  States, 
and  took  up  a  clearing  and  settled  down.  It  was  then  I 
felt  lonesome,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  go  south  for 
awhile.  I  promised  Rube  that  I  would  go  and  settle 
down  by  him  after  a  bit,  and  I've  concluded  that  it's 
about  time  to  do  so.  I've  saved  a  few  hundred  dollars 
out  here,  and  I  am  going  to  start  to-morrow  morning  at 
daybreak  to  catch  the  steamer  at  Rosario.  I  shall  go  up 
straight  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  New  Orleans,  and  a 
steamer  will  take  me  up  the  river  in  three  days  to  Rube's 
location.  Good-by,  all  of  you.  I  told  your  father  this 
afternoon." 

There  was  a  hearty  leave-taking,  and  many  expressions 
of  regret  at  his  leaving;  and  after  a  shake  of  the  hand, 
and  many  good  wishes,  the  young  Hardys  went  up  to  the 
house,  really  sorry  to  part  with  their  Yankee  friend. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  99 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FARM  WORK  AND  AMUSEMENTS. 

ALTHOUGH  but  two  months  had  elapsed  since  the 
ground  was  plowed  up  and  planted,  the  progress  made 
by  the  crop  of  maize  and  pumpkins  was  surprising:  the 
former,  especially,  was  now  nearly  six  ^feet  high.  This 
rapid  growth  was  the  result  of  the  extreme  fertility  of 
the  virgin  soil,  aided  by  the  late  abundant  supply  of 
water,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun.  The  maize  had  given 
them  all  a  great  deal  to  do;  for  when  it  was  about  six 
inches  high  it  had  to  be  thinned  out  so  that  the  plants 
were  nine  or  ten  inches  apart.  This  had  been  done  by 
the  united  strength  of  the  party,  Mr.  Hardy  and  the 
boys  working  for  two  hours  each  morning,  and  as  much 
in  the  evening.  The  girls  also  had  assisted,  and  the 
peons  had  worked  the  whole  day,  except  from  eleven  to 
three,  when  the  heat  was  too  great  even  for  them.  Many 
hands  make  light  work,  and  in  consequence  the  whole 
ground  under  maize  cultivation  was  thinned  in  little  over 
a  week.  Latterly  the  maize  had  grown  so  fast  that  the 
boys  declared  they  could  almost  see  it  grow,  and  at  the 
end  of  two  months  after  sowing  it  was  all  in  flower. 
The  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  strongly  resembles  water 
rushes  in  appearance,  and  the  feathery  blossom  also 
resembles  that  of  the  rush.  Indian  corn  forms  the  main 
article  of  food  in  South  America,  and  in  all  but  the  North- 
ern States  of  North  America.  It  is  equally  useful  and 
common  in  India,  and  in  other  tropical  countries. 


100  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Scarcely  less  is  it  used  in  Italy,  and  other  parts  of  south- 
ern Europe.  It  was  first  introduced  into  Europe  from 
the  East  by  the  great  family  of  Polenta,  who  ruled  the 
important  town  of  Ravenna  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years.  Ground  maize  is  still  called  Polenta  throughout 
Italy;  and  the  great  family  will  live  in  the  name  of  the 
useful  cereal  they  introduced  when  all  memory  of  their 
warlike  deeds  is  lost  except  to  the  learned. 

One  evening  when  Mr.  Hardy,  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, was  strolling  down  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  to 
look  with  pleasure  upon  the  bright  green  of  their  healthy 
and  valuable  crops,  Hubert  said: 

"Isn't  Indian  corn,  papa,  the  great  yellow  heads  cov- 
ered with  grain-like  beads  one  sees  in  corn-dealers'  shops 
in  England?" 

"Yes,  Hubert." 

"Well,  if  that  is  so,  I  cannot  make  out  how  those  long 
delicate  stems  can  bear  the  weight.  They  bend  over  like 
corn  to  every  puff  of  wind.  It  does  not  seem  possible 
that  they  could  bear  a  quarter  of  the  weight  of  their 
heavy  yellow  heads." 

"Nor  could  they,  Hubert;  but  nature  has  made  a  wise 
and  very  extraordinary  provision  for  this  difficulty.  All 
other  plants  and  trees  with  which  I  am  acquainted  have 
their  fruits  or  seeds  where  the  blossom  before  grew.  In 
maize  it  is  placed  in  an  entirely  different  part  of  the 
plant.  In  a  very  short  time  you  will  see — indeed  you 
may  see  now  in  most  of  the  plants — the  stalk  begin  to 
thicken  at  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  from  the  ground, 
and  in  a  little  time  it  will  burst;  and  the  head  of  maize, 
so  enveloped  in  leaves  that  it  looks  a  mere  bunch  of 
them,  will  come  forth.  It  will  for  a  time  grow  larger 
and  larger,  and  then  the  plant  will  wither  and  die  down 
to  the  place  from  which  the  head  springs.  The  part 
that  remains  will  dry  up  until  the  field  appears  covered 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  Id 

•with  dead  stumps,  with  bunches  of  dead  leaves  at  the 
top.  Then  it  is  ready  for  the  harvest. " 

"What  a  strange  plant,  papa!  I  quite  long  for  the 
time  when  the  heads  will  come  out.  What  are  you  going 
to  plant  upon  that  bit  of  land  you  have  got  ready  for 
sowing  now?  It  is  about  six  acres." 

"I  mean  to  plant  cotton  there,  Hubert.  I  have  sent 
to  Buenos  Ayres  for  seeds  of  what  are  called  Carolina 
Upland,  and  I  expect  them  here  in  a  few  days." 

"But  it  takes  a  great  deal  of  labor,  does  it  not,  papa?" 

"The  calculation  in  the  Northern  States,  Hubert,  is 
that  one  man  can  cultivate  eight  acres  of  cotton,  assisted 
by  his  wife  and  children  at  certain  periods;  and  that  as 
his  labor  is  not  always  required,  he  can  with  his  family 
cultivate  another  eight  or  ten  acres  of  other  produce;  so 
that  about  half  of  a  peon's  labor  will  be  required,  and  in 
the  hoeing  and  picking  time  we  can  all  help." 

"Is  not  machinery  required  to  separate  the  seeds  from 
the  cotton?"  Charley  asked. 

"It  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  Charley,  although  it  is 
of  course  economical  when  the  cultivation  is  carried  on 
upon  a  large  scale.  The  variety  I  am  going  to  try  is 
sometimes  called  'bowed'  Carolina,  because  it  used  to  be 
cleaned  by  placing  it  upon  a  number  of  strings  stretched 
very  tight,  which  were  struck  with  a  sort  of  bow,  and  the 
vibration  caused  the  seed  to  separate  from  the  cotton.  I 
have  a  drawing  of  one  of  these  contrivances  in  a  book  up 
at  the  house,  and  when  the  time  comes  you  boys  shall 
make  me  one.  It  will  be  work  for  us  to  do  indoors  when 
the  weather  is  too  hot  to  be  out.  Of  course  if  I  find  that 
it  succeeds,  and  pays  well,  I  shall  take  on  more  hands, 
get  proper  machinery,  and  extend  the  cultivation.  I 
intend  to  plant  the  rows  rather  wide  apart,  so  as  to  use 
the  light  plow  with  the  ridge  boards  between  them, 
instead  of  hoeing,  to  save  labor." 


102  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"How  much  cotton  do  they  get  from  an  acre?"  Mrs, 
Hardy  asked. 

"In  the  Southern  States  they  expect  twelve  hundred 
pounds  upon  new  ground — that  is,  twelve  hundred 
pounds  of  pods,  which  make  about  three  hundred  of 
cleaned  cotton.  When  I  have  got  the  cotton  fairly  in 
the  ground  I  mean  to  plant  an  acre  or  two  of  tobacco, 
and  the  same  quantity  of  sugar  cane,  as  an  experiment. 
But  before  I  do  that  we  must  make  a  garden  up  at  the 
house:  that  is  a  really  urgent  need.5' 

"Couldn't  we  grow  rice  here,  papa?" 

"No  doubt  we  could,  Hubert;  but  I  do  not  mean  to 
try  it.  To  succeed  with  rice,  we  should  have  to  keep 
the  ground  on  which  it  grew  in  a  state  of  swamp,  which 
would  be  very  unhealthy.  That  is  why  I  do  not  irrigate 
the  fields  oftener  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Anything 
approaching  swampy,  or  even  wet  lands,  in  a  climate  like 
this,  would  be  almost  certain  to  breed  malaria.  Besides, 
we  should  be  eaten  alive  by  mosquitoes.  No,  I  shall 
certainly  not  try  rice.  Other  tropical  productions  I 
shall  some  day  give  a  trial  to.  Ginger,  vanilla,  and  other 
things  would  no  doubt  flourish  here.  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  of  them  would  give  an  extraordinary  rate  of 
profit,  for  though  land  is  cheap,  labor  is  scarce.  Still  it 
would  !be  interesting,  and  would  cause  a  little  variety 
and  amusement  in  our  work,  which  is  always  an  impor- 
tant point,  and  no  doubt  there  would  be  generally  some 
profit,  tnough  occasionally  we  may  make  a  total  failure." 

Very  often  at  daybreak  the  girls  would  go  down  with 
their  brothers  to  the  river,  and  watch  the  waterfowl  on 
its  surface;  they  were  so  amusing  as  they  dabbled  and 
played  in  the  water,  unsuspicious  of  danger.  Their 
favorites,  though,  were  the  beautiful  scarlet  flamingoes, 
with  their  slender  legs,  and  their  long,  graceful  necks, 
and  whose  great  employment  seemed  to  be  to  stand  quiet 


f  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  103 

in  the  water,  where  it  was  only  two  or  three  inches  deep,- 
and  to  preen  their  glossy  red  feathers.  Over  and  over 
again  the  girls  wished  that  they  could  get  a  few  water- 
fowl, especially  flamingoes,  to  tame  them,  in  order  that 
they  might  swim  on  the  dam  pond  and  come  and  be  fed; 
and  the  boys  had  several  talks  with  each  other  as  to  the 
most  practicable  way  of  capturing  some  of  them.  At 
last  they  thought  of  making  a  sort  of  inclosure  of  light 
boughs,  with  an  entrance  into  which  birds  could  easily 
pass,  but  through  which  they  could  not  easily  return, 
and  to  scatter  grain  up  to  and  into  the  inclosure,  to 
entice  the  birds  to  enter.  On  explaining  this  plan  to 
Mr.  Hardy,  he  said  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  it  would 
succeed  in  capturing  birds,  but  that  when  caught  it 
would  be  impossible  to  tame  full-grown  wild-fowl,  and 
that  the  only  plan  was  to  find  their  nests,  and  take  the 
eggs  or  very  young  birds.  This  they  determined  to  do; 
and  as  the  bushes  close  to  the  river  were  too  thick  to 
permit  an  examination  from  the  shore,  they  started  one 
morning  early,  and,  going  down  to  the  river,  entered  it, 
and  waded  along  for  a  considerable  distance.  They  dis- 
covered two  swans'  nests,  and  several  of  different  de- 
scriptions of  ducks.  In  some  the  birds  were  sitting  upoa 
their  eggs,  in  others  the  young  brood  were  just  hatched, 
and  scuttled  away  into  the  bushes  with  the  parent  birds 
upon  being  disturbed. 

Charley  and  Hubert  made  no  remark  at  breakfast  upon 
the  success  of  their  expedition;  but  when  Charley  went 
two  days  after  to  Rosario,  he  procured  from  Mr.  Percy, 
who  kept  a  quantity  of  chickens,  two  sitting  hens.  These 
•were  placed  with  their  nests  in  the  bullock  cart  in  a 
hamper;  and  Mrs.  Hardy,  who  had  no  idea  of  the  pur- 
pose to  which  they  were  to  be  put,  was  quite  pleased,  on 
their  arrival  at  Mount  Pleasant,  at  this  addition  to  the 
stock.  Indeed  it  had  been  long  agreed  that  they  would 


104  °&T  ON  TEE 

keep  hens  as  soon  as  the  maize  was  ripe.  The  next 
morning  the  hoys  went  again,  and  brought  back  twenty 
eggs  of  various  kinds  of  wild  duck,  including  four  swans' 
eggs — to  obtain  which  they  had  to  shoot  the  parent 
birds,  which  furnished  the  larder  for  days — which  they 
placed  under  the  hens  in  place  of  their  own  eggs,  and 
then  took  the  girls  in  triumph  to  see  this  commencement 
of  their  tame  duck  project.  The  little  girls  were  de- 
lighted, and  it  was  an  immense  amusement  to  them  to  go 
down  constantly  to  see  if  the  eggs  were  hatched,  as  of 
course  no  one  could  tell  how  long  they  had  been  sat  upon 
previous  to  being  taken.  They  had  remarked  that  four 
of  the  eggs  were  much  larger  than  the  others,  but  had  no 
idea  that  they  were  swans'.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days 
six  of  the  young  ducklings  were  hatched,  and  the  hens 
were  both  so  unhappy  at  their  difficulty  of  continuing  to 
sit  while  they  had  the  care  of  their  young  ones  on  their 
mind,  that  one  hen  and  all  the  little  ones  were  removed 
to  a  distance  from  the  other's  nest,  and  the  whole  of  the 
eggs  were  put  under  the  remaining  hen.  The  four  swans 
and  five  more  ducks  were  safely  hatched,  when  the  hen 
refused  to  sit  longer,  and  the  remaining  eggs  were  lost. 
Now  that  the  swans  were  safely  hatched,  the  boys  told 
their  sisters  what  they  really  were,  and  their  delight  was 
extreme. 

In  a  few  days  they  were  all  taken  down  to  the  dam, 
and  soon  found  their  way  into  the  water,  to  the  great 
distress  of  their  foster-mother,  who  was  obliged  to  stand 
upon  the  bank  calling  in  vain  till  the  little  ones  chose  to 
come  ashore.  A  hencoop  was  soon  knocked  together 
from  an  old  box,  and  this  was  placsd  near  the  dam,  and 
ere  long  the  hens  became  accustomed  to  the  fancy  of 
their  charges  for  the  water,  and  would  walk  about  pick- 
ing up  insects  while  the  little  ones  swam  about  on  the 
pond.  Twice  a  day  the  girls  went  down  to  feed  them 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  105 

•with  grain  and  bits  of  boiled  pumpkin — for  the  pumpkins 
soon  began  to  come  into  bearing — and  the  ducklings  and 
cygnets,  which  last  were  at  present  but  little  larger  than 
the  others,  would  swim  rapidly  toward  them  when  they 
saw  them,  and  would  feed  greedily  out  of  their  hands. 

It  was  not  for  some  weeks  later  that  the  desire  for 
young  flamingoes  was  gratified.  The  boys  had  been  out 
for  a  ride,  and  coming  upon  the  river  where  it  was  wide, 
with  flat  sandy  banks,  round  which  the  timber  grew, 
they  determined  to  tie  up  their  horses  and  enter  the 
stream,  to  see  if  they  could  get  some  more  eggs.  With 
some* difficulty  they  made  their  way  through  the  bushes, 
and,  getting  into  the  water,  waded  along  until  a  turn  in 
the  river  brought  them  in  sight  of  the  flat  bank.  There 
were  some  twenty  or  thirty  flamingoes  upon  it,  for  these 
birds  are  very  gregarious.  Some  were  standing  in  the 
water  as  usual,  but  the  boys  could  not  make  out  what 
some  of  the  others  were  doing.  On  the  flat  shore  were 
several  heaps  of  earth,  and  across  them  some  of  the  birds 
were  apparently  sitting  with  one  leg  straddling  out  each 
side.  So  comical  was  their  aspect  that  the  boys  burst 
into  a  laugh,  which  so  scared  the  flamingoes  that  they 
all  took  flight  instantly.  The  boys  now  waded  up  to  the 
spot,  and  then  got  ashore  to  see  what  these  strange 
heaps  were  for.  To  their  great  delight  they  found  that 
they  were  nests,  and  upon  the  top  of  several  of  them 
were  eight  or  nine  eggs  carefully  arranged.  The  legs  of 
the  flamingo  are  so  long  that  the  bird  is  unable  to 
double  them  up  and  sit  upon  his  nest  in  the  usual  fash- 
ion. The  hen  bird  therefore  scrapes  together  a  pile  of 
earth,  on  the  top  of  which  she  lays  her  eggs,  and  then 
places  herself  astride  to  keep  them  warm.  The  boys  had 
an  argument  whether  they  should  take  away  two  nests 
entire,  or  whether  they  should  take  a  few  eggs  from  each 
nest;  but  they  decided  upon  the  former  plan,  in  order 


106  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

that  each  of  the  young  broods  might  be  hatched  simul- 
taneously. Upon  the  boys  reaching  home  with  their 
treasure  their  sisters'  delight  was  unbounded,  and  the 
hens  were  soon  placed  upon  their  new  charges,  and,  both 
being  good  sitters,  took  to  them  without  much  difficulty. 

When  the  young  broods  were  hatched  the  girls  were 
greatly  disappointed  at  the  appearance  of  little  grayish 
fluffy  balls,  instead  of  the  lovely  red  things  they  had  ex- 
pected, and  were  by  no  means  consoled  when  their  father 
told  them  that  it  would  be  three  or  four  years  before 
they  gained  their  beautiful  color.  However,  they  became 
great  pets,  and  were  very  droll,  with  their  long  legs,  and 
slender  necks,  and  great  curved  bills.  They  became 
extremely  tame,  and  would,  after  a  time,  follow  the  girls 
about,  and  stalk  up  to  the  house  of  their  own  accord  to  be 
fed,  their  food  always  being  placed  in  water,  as  they  never 
feed  by  picking  upon  the  ground,  for  which,  indeed,  the 
peculiar  construction  of  their  beak  is  entirely  unfitted. 
They  were  perfectly  fearless  of  the  dogs,  which,  on  their 
part,  were  too  well  trained  to  touch  them;  and  their 
funny  way  and  their  extreme  tameness  were  a  source  of 
constant  amusement  to  the  whole  family. 

But  we  must  now  retrace  our  steps.  After  the  im- 
portant work  of  getting  a  certain  amount  of  land  under 
cultivation,  the  next  most  urgent  business  was  the  for- 
mation of  a  garden.  The  land  inside  the  inclosure 
round  the  house  was  first  plowed  up,  and  then  dug  by 
hand,  the  turf  being  left  in  front  of  the  house  to  serve  as 
a  lawn.  The  rest  was  planted  with  seeds  brought  from 
England — peas,  beans,  tomatoes,  vegetable  marrows, 
cucumbers,  melons,  and  many  others,  some  of  which 
were  natives  of  warm  climates,  while  others  were  planted 
in  small  patches  as  an  experiment.  Fortunately,  the 
well  supplied  an  abundance  of  water,  whose  only  draw- 
back was  that,  like  most  water  upon  the  pampas,  it  had 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  107 

a  strong  saline  taste,  which  was,  until  they  had  become 
accustomed  to  it,  very  disagreeable  to  the  Hardys.  As 
the  well  had  been  dug  close  to  the  house  on  the  highest 
part  of  the  slope,  the  water  was  conducted  from  the 
pump  by  small  channels  all  over  the  garden;  and  the 
growth  of  the  various  vegetables  was  surprising.  But 
long  before  these  could  come  into  bearing  a  welcome 
supply  was  afforded  by  the  yams  and  Indian  corn.  The 
yams  resemble  a  sweet  potato;  and  if  the  Indian  corn  is 
gathered  green,  and  the  little  corns  nibbed  off,  boiled, 
and  mixed  with  a  little  butter,  they  exactly  resemble  the 
most  delicate  and  delicious  young  peas. 

The  young  potatoes,  too,  had  come  in,  so  that  they 
had  now  an  abundance  of  vegetables,  the  only  point  in 
which  they  had  before  been  deficient.  Their  drink  was 
the  mate,  which  may  be  termed  the  national  beverage  of 
Paraguay,  Brazil,  and  the  Argentine  Kepublic.  It  is 
made  from  the  leaves  of  the  mat&  yuba,  a  plant  which 
grows  in  Paraguay  and  Brazil.  The  natives  generally 
drink  it  without  sugar  or  milk,  sucking  it  up  from  the 
vessel  in  which  it  is  made  through  a  small  tube*  It  is, 
however,  greatly  improved  by  the  addition  of  sugar  and 
milk,  or,  better  still,  cream.  This  fgreatly  softens  the 
bitter  taste  which  distinguishes  it.  None  of  the  party 
liked  it  at  first;  but  as  they  were  assured  by  those  in  the 
country  that  they  would  like  it  when  they  became  accus- 
tomed to  it,  they  persevered,  and  after  a  time  all  came 
to  prefer  it  even  to  tea. 

Occasionally  one  or  other  of  the  boys  went  over  to 
Kosario  with  the  cart,  and  Mr.  Hardy  bought  some  hun- 
dreds of  young  fruit  trees — apple,  pear,  plum^  apricot, 
and  peach — some  of  which  were  planted  in  the  garden  at 
the  sides  and  in  rear  of  the  house,  others  in  the  open 
beyond  and  round  it;  a  light  fence  with  one  wire  being 
put  up  to  keep  the  cattle  from  trespassing.  Clumps  of 


108  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

young  palms,  bananas,  and  other  tropical  trees  and 
shrubs  were  also  planted  about  for  the  future  adorn- 
ment of  the  place.  Fences  were  erected  round  the  cul- 
tivated ground,  and  an  inclosure  was  made,  into  which 
the  cattle  were  driven  at  night.  These  fences  were 
easily  and  cheaply  made.  The  wire  cost  little  more  at 
Eosario  than  it  would  have  done  in  England,  and  the 
chief  trouble  was  bringing  the  posts,  which  were  made 
of  algaroba  wood,  from  the  town.  This  wood  grows 
abundantly  upon  the  upper  river,  and  is  there  cut  down 
and  floated  in  great  rafts  down  to  Eosario.  It  is  a  tough 
wood,  which  splits  readily,  and  is  therefore  admirably 
suited  for  posts.  It  is  of  a  reddish  color,  and  has  a 
pretty  grain  when  polished.  All  the  furniture  was  made 
of  it;  and  this,  from  constant  rubbing  by  Sarah  and  the 
girls,  now  shone  brightly,  and  had  a  very  good  effect. 

The  ceilings  were  now  put  to  the  rooms,  which  were 
greatly  improved  in  appearance  thereby,  and  the  differ- 
ence in  temperature  was  very  marked.  A  very  short 
time  after  the  capture  of  the  wild  fowls'  eggs  it  was 
unanimously  agreed  that  chickens  were  indispensable, 
and  a  large  hen-house  was  accordingly  built  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  dam,  as  it  was  considered  as  well  not 
to  have  any  buildings,  with  the  exception  of  the  men's 
hut,  near  the  house.  The  hen-house  was  quickly  built, 
as  it  was  a  mere  framework  covered  with  felt,  with  bars 
across  it  for  the  fowls  to  perch  upon. 

The  floor  was  made,  as  that  of  the  house  had  been,  of 
lime  and  clay  beaten  hard;  and  a  small  cut  was  made  to 
the  dam,  by  which  water  could,  at  will,  be  turned  over 
the  floor  to  keep  it  clean  and  neat.  The  next  time  the 
cart  went  to  Eosario  it  brought  back  fifty  fowls,  which 
had  only  cost  a  few  dollars.  Henceforth  eggs  and 
omelettes  became  a  regular  part  of  the  breakfast,  and 
the  puddings  were  notably  improved. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  109 

The  chickens  gave  very  little  trouble,  as  they  foraged 
about  for  themselves,  finding  an  abundance  of  insects 
everywhere,  and  getting  in  addition  a  few  pots  of  Indian 
corn  every  morning.  Maud  and  Ethel  took  it  by  turns, 
week  about,  to  take  charge  of  the  hen-house;  and  a  great 
pleasure  was  it  to  them  to  watch  the  numerous  broods  of 
young  chickens,  and  to  hunt  up  the  eggs  which,  in  spite 
of  the  nests  temptingly  prepared  for  them,  the  hens 
•would  frequently  persist  in  laying  in  nests  of  their  own 
in  the  long  grass. 

The  hens  had,  however,  a  numerous  foe,  who  were  a 
great  trouble  to  their  young  mistresses.  These  were  the 
skunks,  an  animal  of  the  weasel  tribe,  but  much  resem- 
bling squirrels  in  appearance,  and  possessing  a  most 
abominable  smell;  so  much  so  that  the  dogs,  who  would 
attack  almost  anything,  would  run  away  from  them. 
They  were  at  first  exceedingly  common,  and  created  ter- 
rible depredations  among  the  hens.  The  girls  were  in 
despair,  and  called  in  their  brothers  to  their  assistance. 
The  boys  shot  a  good  many,  for  the  animals  were  very 
tame  and  fearless;  but  their  number  was  so  great  that 
this  method  of  destruction  was  of  slight  avail.  They 
then  prepared  traps  of  various  kinds — some  made  by  an 
elastic  stick  bent  down,  with  a  noose  at  the  end,  placed 
at  a  small  entrance  left  purposely  in  the  hen-house,  so 
that,  when  the  skunk  was  about  to  enter,  he  touched  a 
spring,  and  the  stick  released,  flew  into  the  air  carrying 
the  animal  with  it  with  the  noose  round  its  neck;  other 
traps  let  fall  a  heavy  piece  of  wood,  which  crushed  the 
invader;  and  in  these  ways  the  skunks  were  pretty  well 
got  rid  of,  the  most  unpleasant  work  being  the  removal 
of  the  body  from  the  trap.  This  had  to  be  effected  by 
taking  hold  of  it  with  two  pieces  of  wood,  for  the  odor 
was  so  powerful  that  if  the  body  was  touched  the  smell 
would  remain  on  the  hands  for  days. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

They  had  now  added  another  species  of  domestic 
animal  to  their  stock,  but  this  was  the  boys'  charge. 
Mr.  Hardy,  when  the  pumpkins  began  to  ripen,  bought 
six  pigs.  They  were  of  little  trouble,  for  although  a  sty 
•was  built  for  them,  they  were  allowed  to  wander  about  as 
they  pleased  by  day,  another  wire  being  added  to  the 
fence  round  the  cultivated  land,  to  keep  them  from 
trespassing.  The  crop  of  pumpkins  was  enormous;  and 
Mr.  Hardy  determined  that  no  pigs  should  be  killed 
for  eighteen  months,  by  which  time,  as  these  animals 
increase  rapidly,  there  would  be  quite  a  large  herd  of 
them. 

Although  an  immense  deal  of  hard  work  was  got 
through  during  the  four  months  which  followed  the 
completion  of  the  house  and  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Hardy 
and  her  daughters,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  was 
not  mingled  with  plenty  of  relaxation  and  amusement. 

There  were  few  days  when  one  or  other  of  the  boys  did 
not  go  out  with  his  gun  for  an  hour  either  before  sunrise 
or  after  sunset,  seldom  failing  to  bring  home  a  wild  fowl 
or  two  of  some  kind  or  other.  And  sometimes  of  an 
afternoon  they  would  go  out  for  a  ride  with  their  sisters, 
and  have  a  chase  after  an  ostrich,  or  a  run  after  the  gray 
foxes,  which  abounded,  and  were  very  destructive  among 
the  young  lambs.  Once  or  twice  during  these  rides  the 
boys  brought  a  puma  to  bay;  but  as  they  always  carried 
a  ball  in  one  of  their  barrels,  with  these  and  their  revol- 
vers they  soon  dispatched  their  unwelcome  visitors. 

They  had  contrived  an  apparatus  with  straps  and  a  sort 
of  little  pocket,  in  which  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  went,  so 
that  it  hung  from  the  saddle  down  in  front  of  their  leg; 
the  stock  of  the  gun  being  secured  by  a  strap  against  the 
pommel  of  the  saddle,  at  the  other  side  of  which  was 
their  revolver  holster.  This  was  an  inconvenient  way  of 
carrying  the  gun  in  some  respects,  as  the  strap  had  to  ba 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  Ill 

unfastened  to  get  at  it,  and  the  chance  of  a  shot  thereby 
lost;  but  they  considered  it  preferable  to  the  mode  they 
had  at  first  adopted,  of  riding  with  their  guns  slung  be- 
hind them.  This  they  gave  up,  because,  with  the 
utmost  care,  they  occasionally  got  a  fall,  when  galloping, 
from  the  armadillo  holes,  and  the  shock  was  greatly  in- 
creased from  the  weight  of  the  gun,  besides  the  risk,  to 
any  one  riding  near,  of  the  gun  exploding.  When  riding 
quietly,  and  upon  the  lookout  for  game,  they  carried  the 
gun  in  readiness  upon  their  arms. 

It  was  after  one  of  these  rides,  when  Hubert  had 
brought  down  with  a  bullet  a  swan  which  was  making  for 
his  bed  in  the  river,  that  Maud  said  at  tea: 

"I  wish  we  could  shoot  too;  it  would  be  a  great  amuse- 
ment, and  I  should  enjoy  my  rides  a  good  deal  more  if  I 
knew  that  I  could  take  a  shot  in  case  a  lion  or  a  deer 
came  out." 

"Well,  girls,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "I  had  always  intended 
that  you  should  learn  to  shoot.  We  have  had  so  much 
to  do  since  you  came  here  that  I  did  not  think  of  it,  and 
I  had  besides  intended  to  wait  until  one  of  you  expressed 
a  desire  to  learn.  I  brought  out  three  light  rook-shoot- 
ing rifles  on  purpose  for  you  and  your  mamma,  and 
you  can  begin  to-morrow  morning  if  you  like." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  papa,  thank  you  very,  very  much; 
that  will  be  nice!"  both  the  girls  exclaimed,  clapping 
their  hands  in  their  excitement. 

"And  what  do  you  say,  mamma?"  Mr.  Hardy  asked. 

"'No,  thank  you,"  Mrs.  Hardy  said;  "I  have  plenty  to 
do,  and,  with  a  husband  and  two  sons  and  two  daughters 
to  defend  me,  I  do  not  consider  that  it  is  essential.  But 
I  think  that  it  will  be  a  nice  amusement  for  the  girls." 

And  so  next  morning,  and  nearly  every  morning  after- 
ward, the  girls  practiced  with  the  light  rifle  at  a  mark, 
until  in  time  their  hands  became  so  steady  that  at  short 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

distances  of  sixty  or  seventy  yards  they  could  beat  their 
"brothers,  who  were  both  really  good  shots.  This  wag 
principally  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  charge  of  powder 
used  in  these  rifles  was  so  small  that  there  was  scarcely 
any  recoil  to  disturb  the  aim.  It  was  some  time  before 
they  could  manage  to  hit  anything  flying;  but  they  were 
Tery  proud  one  evening  when,  having  been  out  late  with 
the  boys,  a  fat  goose  came  along  overhead,  and  the  girls 
firing  simultaneously,  he  fell  with  both  bullets  in  his 
body.  After  this  they,  too,  carried  their  rifles  out  with 
them  during  their  rides. 

Any  one  who  had  known  Maud  and  Ethel  Hardy  at 
home  would  have  scarcely  recognized  them  now  in  the 
sunburnt-looking  lassies,  who  sat  upon  their  horses  as  if 
they  had  never  known  any  other  seat  in  their  lives. 
Their  dress,  too,  would  have  been  most  curious  to  Eng- 
lish eyes.  They  wore  wide  straw  hats,  with  a  white  scarf 
wound  round  the  top  to  keep  off  the  heat.  Their  dresses 
-were  very  short,  and  made  of  brown  holland,  with  a 
garibaldi  of  blue-colored  flannel.  They  wore  red  flannel 
knickerbockers,  and  gaiters  coming  up  above  the  knee, 
of  a  very  soft,  flexible  leather,  made  of  deer's  skin. 
These  gaiters  were  an  absolute  necessity,  for  the  place 
literally  swarmed  with  snakes,  and  they  constantly  found 
them  in  the  garden  when  going  out  to  gather  vegetables. 
Most  of  these  snakes  were  harmless;  but  as  some  of  them 
were  very  deadly,  the  protection  of  the  gaiters  was  quite 
necessary.  The  girls  did  not  like  them  at  first,  especially 
as  their  brothers  could  not  help  joking  them  a  little,  and 
Hubert  said  that  they  reminded  him  of  two  yellow-legged 
partridges.  However,  they  soon  became  accustomed  to 
them,  and  felt  so  much  more  comfortable  about  snakes 
afterward  that  they  would  not  have  given  them  up  upon 
any  account. 

The  boys  always  wore  high  boots  for  the  same  reason, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

and  had  no  fear  whatever  of  the  snakes;  but  Mr.  Hardy 
insisted  that  each  of  them  should  always  carry  in  a  small 
inner  pocket  of  their  coats  a  phial  of  spirits  of  ammonia, 
a  small  surgical  knife,  and  a  piece  of  whipcord;  the  same 
articles  being  always  kept  in  readiness  at  the  house.  His 
instructions  were,  that  in  case  of  a  bite  they  should  first 
suck  the  wound,  then  tie  the  whipcord  round  the  limb 
above  the  place  bitten,  and  that  they  should  then  cut 
deeply  into  the  wound  crossways,  open  it  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  pour  in  some  spirits  of  ammonia;  that  they 
should  then  pour  the  rest  of  the  ammonia  into  their 
water-bottle,  which  they  always  carried  slung  over  their 
shoulders,  and  should  drink  it  off.  If  these  directions 
were  instantly  and  thoroughly  carried  out,  Mr.  Hardy  had 
little  fear  that  the  bite,  even  of  the  deadiest  snake, 
would  prove  fatal.  In  addition  he  ordered  that  in  case  of 
their  being  near  home  they  should,  upon  their  arrival,  be 
made  to  drink  raw  spirits  until  they  could  not  stand,  and 
that,  if  they  were  some  distance  away  from  home,  and 
were  together,  the  one  bitten  should  lie  down  while  the 
other  galloped  at  full  speed  to  take  back  a  bottle  of 
brandy,  and  order  assistance  to  be  sent.  This  remedy  is 
well  known  throughout  India.  Any  one  bitten  by  a 
poisonous  snake  is  made  to  drink  spirits,  which  he  is  able 
to  do  without  being  affected  by  them,  to  an  extraordinary 
extent;  a  man  who  at  ordinary  times  could  scarcely  take 
a  strong  tumbler  of  spirits  and  water,  being  able,  when 
bitten,  to  drink  a  bottle  of  pure  brandy  without  being  in 
the  least  affected  by  it.  When  the  spirit  does  at  last 
begin  to  take  effect,  and  the  patient  shows  signs  of 
drunkenness,  he  is  considered  to  be  safe,  the  poison  of 
the  spirit  having  overcome  the  poison  of  the  snake. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NEIGHBORLY  VISITS  AND  ADVICE. 

IT  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  Hardys,  during  the 
whole  of  this  time,  were  leading  a  perfectly  solitary  life. 
Upon  the  contrary,  they  had  a  great  deal  of  sociable 
companionship.  Within  a  range  of  ten  miles  there  were 
no  less  than  four  estancias  owned  by  Englishmen,  besides 
that  of  their  first  friend  Mr.  Percy.  A  ride  of  twenty 
miles  is  thought  nothing  of  out  on  the  pampas.  The 
estate  immediately  to  the  rear  of  their  own  was  owned  by 
Sefior  Jaqueras,  a  native.  The  tract  upon  the  east  of 
his  property  was  owned  by  three  young  Englishmen, 
whose  names  were  Herries,  Cooper,  and  Farquhar.  They 
had  all  been  in  the  army,  but  had  sold  out,  and  agreed  to 
come  out  and  settle  together. 

The  southwestern  corner  of  their  property  came  down 
to  the  river  exactly  opposite  the  part  where  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  Mount  Pleasant  touched  it:  their  house 
was  situated  about  four  miles  from  the  Hardys.  To  the 
west  of  Sefior  Jaqueras,  the  estate  was  owned  by  two 
Scotchmen,  brothers  of  the  name  of  Jamieson:  their 
estancia  was  nine  miles  distant.  In  the  rear  of  the  estate 
of  Sefior  Jaqueras,  and  next  to  that  of  Mr.  Percy,  were 
the  properties  of  Messrs.  Williams  and  Markham :  they 
were  both  about  ten  miles  from  Mount  Pleasant.  These 
gentlemen  had  all  ridden  over  to  call  upon  the  new- 
comers within  a  very  few  days  of  Mr.  Hardy's  first 
arrival,  and  had  offered  any  help  in  their  power. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  115 

The  Hardys  were  much  pleased  with  their  visitors, 
•who  were  all  young  men,  with  the  frank,  hearty  manner 
natural  to  men  free  from  the  restraints  of  civilized  life. 
The  visits  had  been  returned  in  a  short  time,  and  then 
for  awhile  all  communication  with  the  more  distant  vis- 
itors had  ceased,  for  the  Hardys  were  too  busy  to  spare 
time  upon  distant  rides.  One  or  other  of  the  party  at 
Canterbury,  as  the  three  Englishmen  had  called  their 
estancia,  very  frequently  dropped  in  for  a  talk,  and  Mr. 
Hardy  and  the  boys  often  rode  over  there  when  work  was 
done.  Canterbury  was  also  a  young  settlement — only 
four  or  five  months,  indeed,  older  than  Mount  Pleasant — 
so  that  its  owners,  like  themselves,  had  their  hands  lull 
of  work;  but  sometimes,  when  they  knew  that  the 
Hardys  were  particularly  hard  at  work,  one  or  two  of 
them  would  come  over  at  daybreak  and  give  their  assist- 
ance. During  ^the  final  week's  work,  especially  just 
before  Mrs.  Hardy's  arrival,  all  three  came  over  and  lent 
their  aid,  as  did  the  Jamiesons. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Hardy  had  arrived  all  their  neighbors 
came  over  to  call,  and  a  very  friendly  intercourse  was 
quickly  established  between  them.  As  there  was  no 
spare  bedroom  at  Mount  Pleasant,  some  hammocks  were 
made,  and  hooks  were  put  into  the  sitting-room  walls,  so 
that  the  hammocks  could  be  slung  at  night  and  taken 
down  in  the  morning.  The  English  party  always  rode 
back  to  Canterbury,  as  the  distance  was  so  short,  and  the 
Jamiesons  generally  did  the  same;  but  Messrs.  Percy, 
Williams,  and  Markham  usually  came  over  in  the  after- 
noon, and  rode  back  again  next  morning. 

When  the  press  of  work  was  over  the  boys  and  their 
sisters  often  cantered  over  to  Canterbury  to  tea,  and 
sometimes,  but  more  seldom,  to  the  Jamiesons'  estancia. 
The  light-hearted  young  Englishmen  were  naturally 
more  to  their  fancy  than  the  quiet  and  thoughtful 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Scotchmen.  The  latter  were,  however,  greatly  esteemed 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy,  who  perceived  in  them  a  fund  of 
quiet  good  sense  and  earnestness. 

Upon  Sunday  morning  Mr.  Hardy  had  service,  and  to 
this  the  whole  of  their  friends  generally  came.  It  was 
held  early,  so  that  the  Jamiesons  and  the  Englishmen 
could  ride  back  to  their  homes  before  the  heat  of  the 
day,  the  other  three  remaining  to  dine,  and  returning  in 
the  cool  of  the  evening.  Canterbury  was  entirely  a  sheep 
and  cattle  farm.  The  owners  had  five  thousand  sheep, 
and  some  hundreds  of  cattle;  but  they  had  comparatively 
a  good  deal  of  time  upon  their  hands,  as  stock  and  sheep 
farming  does  not  require  so  much  personal  care  and  su- 
pervision as  must  be  bestowed  upon  agricultural  farms. 
The  Jamiesons,  on  the  contrary,  were  entirely  occupied 
in  tillage:  they  had  no  sheep,  and  only  a  few  head  of 
cattle. 

Mr.  Hardy  was  remarking  upon  this  one  day  to  Mr. 
Percy,  who  replied,  "Ah,  the  poor  fellows  are  very un  for- 
tunate. They  brought  out  a  fair  capital,  and  had  as  large 
a  stock  of  sheep  and  cattle  as  the  Canterbury  party  have. 
About  six  months,  however,  before  you  arrived — yes,  it's 
just  a  year  now — the  Indians  swept  down  upon  them, 
and  carried  off  every  animal  they  had.  They  attacked 
the  house,  but  the  Jamiesons  defended  themselves  well; 
and  the  Indians  were  anxious  to  get  off  with  their  booty, 
and  so  they  beat  a  retreat.  Pursuit  was  hopeless;  every 
liorse  had  been  driven  off,  and  they  had  to  walk  six  miles 
to  the  next  hacienda  to  give  the  news;  and  long  before  a 
party  could  be  got  together  the  Indians  were  beyond  the 
possibility  of  pursuit.  Two  or  three  hundred  sheep  and 
a  dozen  or  two  of  the  bullocks  found  their  way  back,  and 
these  and  their  land  was  all  that  remained  to  the  Jamie- 
sons  of  their  capital,  for  they  had  invested  all  they  had 
in  their  stock.  However,  they  looked  affairs  manfully 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  II? 

in  the  face,  sold  their  animals,  bought  a  couple  of  plows 
and  draught  bullocks,  hired  a  peon  or  two,  and  set  to 
work  with  a  will.  They  will  get  on  but  slowly  for  a 
time;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  will  do  well  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years.  Men  with  their  pluck  and  per- 
severance are  certain  to  get  on.  That  puts  me  in  mind, 
Hardy,  of  a  matter  upon  which  I  had  intended  to  speak 
to  you.  We  are  just  getting  now  to  the  time  of  the  year 
when  Indian  attacks  are  most  likely  to  take  place. 
Sometimes  they  are  quiet  for  a  year  or  two,  then  they 
are  very  troublesome  again.  Five  or  six  years  ago,  just 
after  I  first  came  out,  we  had  terrible  times  with  them. 
Vast  numbers  of  cattle  were  driven  off:  the  sheep  they 
less  seldom  take,  because  they  cannot  travel  so  fast,  but 
they  do  drive  them  off  sometimes.  A  good  many  shep- 
herds were  killed,  and  two  or  three  estancias  captured 
and  burned,  and  the  inmates  murdered.  You  are  now  the 
furthest  settler,  and  consequently  the  most  exposed. 
Your  estancia  is  strong  and  well  built,  and  you  are  all 
well  armed  and  good  shots.  You  are,  I  think,  in  that 
respect  safe,  except  from  sudden  surprise.  The  dogs  are 
sure  to  give  an  alarm;  still  I  should  sleep  with  every- 
thing in  readiness." 

"Thank  you,  Percy;  I  shall  take  your  advice.  I  ex- 
pected it  from  what  I  had  heard  when  I  bought  the 
place;  but  from  hearing  nothing  of  Indians  all  this  time, 
I  had  almost  forgotten  it.  I  will  prepare  for  defense 
without  the  loss  of  a  day.  The  house  has  only  one 
-vulnerable  point — the  doors  and  shutters.  I  will  measure 
them  this  afternoon,  and  will  get  you  to  take  over  a 
letter  and  forward  it  to  Rosario  by  the  first  opportunity, 
for  some  sheets  of  thin  iron  to  cover  them  with." 

Mr.  Percy  promised  to  forward  the  letter  the  very  next 
day  by  a  bullock-cart  he  was  sending  in,  and  also  that 
the  same  cart  should  bring  them  back.  He  said  that  if 


118  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

a  conveyance  were  sent  over  in  two  days'  time  for  them 
they  would  be  in  readiness  at  his  place. 

This  conversation  caused  Mr.  Hardy  great  uneasiness. 
It  was  a  possibility  he  had  been  quite  prepared  for;  but 
he  could  not  feel  that  the  danger  was  really  at  hand 
without  an  anxious  feeling.  His  thousand  sheep  had 
cost  him  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  his 
cattle  as  much  more.  The  lambing  season  had  come 
and  gone,  and  the  flock  of  sheep  had  doubled  in  number. 
The  cattle,  too,  had  greatly  increased,  and  the  sheep 
were  nearly  ready  for  shearing.  Altogether  the  value  of 
the  stock  was  over  five  thousand  dollars.  The  loss  would 
not  be  absolute  ruin,  as  he  had  still  three  thousand  dol- 
lars of  his  original  capital  in  the  bank  at  Buenos  Ayres; 
"but  it  would  be  a  very  serious  loss. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  been  alone  with  Mr.  Percy  when  the 
conversation  took  place;  but  he  determined  at  once  to 
take  the  boys  into  his  entire  confidence.  He  therefore 
called  to  them  to  come  out  for  a  stroll  down  to  the  dam, 
and  told  them  word  for  word  what  Mr.  Percy  had  related 
to  him. 

Charley's  eyes  brightened  at  the  thought  of  the  excite- 
ment of  a  fight  with  Indians,  for  which  when  in  Eng- 
land, eighteen  months  before,  he  had  longed;  and  his 
fingers  tightened  upon  his  gun  as  he  said,  "All  right, 
papa,  let  them  come."  Hubert's  face  grew  a  little 
paler,  for  he  was  not  naturally  of  so  plucky  or  pugna- 
cious a  dispositon  as  his  brother.  However,  he  only  said, 
"Well,  papa,  if  they  do  come  we  shall  all  do  our  best.1' 

"I  am  sure  you  will,  my  boy,"  said  his  father  kindly. 
"But  there  is  no  fear  if  it  comes  to  fighting.  We  three 
with  our  arms  can  thrash  a  hundred  of  them.  What  I 
am  thinking  of  is  our  cattle,  and  not  ourselves.  We  will 
take  good  care  against  a  sudden  surprise;  and  it's  more 
than  a  whole  tribe  could  do  to  take  Mount  Pleasant  if  we 
are  prepared." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  119 

'    "Do  you  mean  to  tell  mamma  and  the  girls,  papa?" 

"I  mean  to  tell  them  that  it  is  necessary  for  a  time  to 
be  on  their  guard,  that  the  girls  are  on  no  account  to 
venture  to  ride  out  alone,  and  that  they  must  not  stir 
out  of  the  inclosure  even  as  far  as  the  hen-house,  without 
first  of  all  going  up  to  the  top  of  the  lookout  to  see  that 
all  is  clear.  We  must  see  that,  in  future,  the  sheep  and 
cattle  and  horses  are  all  driven  at  night  into  their  wire 
inclosures — we  have  not  been  very  particular  about  the 
cattle  lately — and  that  the  gates  are  fastened  and  pad- 
locked at  night.  It  will  puzzle  them  to  get  them  out. 
Our  own  three  horses  I  will  have  in  future  kept  within 
our  own  inclosure,  so  that  they  may  be  always  at  hand, 
night  or  day.  I  bought  them  with  a  special  eye  to  In- 
dians; they  are  all  remarkably  fast;  and  whether  we  run 
away  or  pursue,  can  be  relied  on.  And  now,  boys,  come 
up  to  the  house,  and  I  will  open  the  mysterious  box." 

The  box  of  which  Mr.  Hardy  spoke  was  a  long  case, 
which  had  never  been  opened  since  their  arrival.  No 
entreaties  of  his  children  could  induce  Mr.  Hardy  to  say 
what  were  its  contents,  and  the  young  ones  had  often 
wondered  and  puzzled  over  what  they  could  be.  It  had 
come,  therefore,  to  be  known  in  the  family  as  the  mys- 
terious box. 

With  greatly  excited  curiosity  the  boys  now  walked 
toward  the  house;  but  there  was  a  slight  delay,  for  as 
they  approached  Maud  and  Ethel  came  running  to  meet 
them. 

"Is  anything  the  matter  with  the  dam,  papa?  We 
have  been  watching  you  having  such  a  long  talk  with  the 
boys.  What  is  it  all  about?" 

Mr.  Hardy  now  told  them  as  much  as  he  thought 
proper  of  the  state  of  things,  and  [gave  them  their  in- 
structions. The  girls,  who  had  no  idea  there  was  any 
real  danger,  and  who  had  besides  an  unlimited  confidence 


120  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

in  their  father  and  brothers,  were  disposed  to  look  upon 
it  as  fun,  and  Mr.  Hardy  had  to  speak  quite  seriously  to 
be  sure  that  his  orders  would  be  strictly  attended  to. 
The  boys  then  informed  them  that  the  mysterious  box 
was  to  be  opened,  and  the  whole  party  went  up  to  the 
house. 

The  box  had  been  placed  in  the  storeroom  on  the 
upper  floor  of  the  tower,  and  the  boys  took  up  screw- 
drivers and  hammers  to  open  it.  The  latter  tools  were 
not  necessary,  as  the  case  was  very  carefully  screwed  up; 
and  when  the  top  was  taken  off  it  was  found  that  there 
was  an  inside  case  of  tin  soldered  up.  As  the  boys  were 
cutting  through  this  they  expressed  their  opinion  that, 
from  the  extreme  care  taken,  the  contents  must  be  very 
valuable.  Still  Mr.  Hardy  would  give  no  clew;  and 
when  the  case  was  finally  opened,  the  astonishment  of  all 
was  unbounded  to  find  that  it  contained  four  dozen  large 
rockets  and  a  dozen  blue-lights.  One  dozen  of  these 
rockets  were  ordinary  signal  rockets,  but  the  rest  were 
covered  with  strong  tin  cases. 

"Fireworks!"  they  all  exclaimed  in  intense  surprise. 
"What  have  you  brought  fireworks  all  this  way  for, 
papa?" 

"I  will  tell  you,  my  dears.  I  knew  that  the  Indians 
of  the  pampas  were  horse  Indians,  and  the  idea  struck 
me  that  as  they  could  never  have  seen  rockets,  they 
would  be  horribly  scared  at  night  by  them.  Rockets, 
you  know,  are  used  in  war;  and  even  if  the  riders  are 
not  frightened,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  horses  would 
be  horribly  alarmed  by  one  or  two  of  these  rushing  fiery 
things  charging  into  their  midst.  I  therefore  had  them 
specially  made  for  me  by  a  pyrotechnist  in  London.  One 
dozen,  as  you  see,  are  ordinary  rockets  of  the  largest  size; 
they  contain  colored  balls,  which  will  give  out  a  most 
brilliant  light.  One  of  them  thrown  into  the  air,  even 


0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

'where  we  believe  any  Indians  to  be,  will  light  up  the 
plain,  and  give  us  a  fair  view  of  them.  The  other  three 
dozen  are  loaded  with  crackers.  As  you  see,  I  have  had 
a  strong  case  of  tin  placed  over  the  ordinary  case;  and 
one  of  them  striking  a  man  will  certainly  knock  him  off 
his  horse,  and  probably  kill  him.  The  roar,  the  rush, 
the  train  of  fire,  and  finally  the  explosion  and  the  volley 
of  crackers  in  their  midst  would  be  enough  to  frighten 
their  horses  altogether  beyond  control.  What  do  you 
think  of  my  idea?" 

"Capital,  capital!"  they  all  cried. 

"But  how,  papa,"  Hubert  asked,  "will  you  manage  to 
make  your  rockets  go  straight  at  the  Indians?  All  the 
rockets  I  ever  saw  went  straight  up  into  the  air." 

"Yes,  Hubert,  because  they  were  pointed  up.  A 
rocket  goes  whichever  way  it  is  pointed.  Rockets  in  war 
are  fired  through  a  tube,  or  from  a  trough.  We  will  use 
the  trough.  Set  to  at  once,  boys,  and  make  a  trough 
about  four  feet  long,  without  ends.  It  must  stand  on 
legs  high  enough  to  raise  it  above  the  level  of  the  wall 
round  the  top  of  the  tower.  Let  there  be  two  legs  on 
the  front  end,  and  one  leg  behind;  and  this  leg  behind 
must  have  a  hinge,  so  that,  when  it  stands  upright,  it 
will  be  six  or  eight  inches  higher  than  the  front,  in  case 
we  want  to  fire  at  anything  close  at  hand.  When  we 
want  to  elevate  the  head  of  the  rocket  to  fire  at  anything 
at  a  distance,  we  pull  the  hind  leg  back,  so  that  that  end 
is  lower  than  the  front.  Put  a  spike  at  the  end  of  the 
leg,  to  let  it  have  a  firm  hold  on  the  floor." 

Charley  thought  a  moment,  and  then  said:  "I  think, 
papa,  it  would  be  firmer,  and  more  easily  managed,  if  we 
made  two  legs  behind,  with  another  one  sliding  up  and 
down  between  them,  and  with  holes  in  it  so  that  it  can 
be  pegged  up  and  down  as  we  like." 

"That  would  be  certainly  better,  Charley.     Put  your 


unaney. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

idea  down  upon  paper,  and  let  me  see  exactly  what  you 
mean  before  you  begin." 

Charley  did  so,  and  Mr.  Hardy  pronounced  it  to  be 
excellent;  and  by  night  the  trough  was  finished,  and 
placed  in  position  at  the  top  of  the  lookout. 

Mr.  Hardy,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  explained  to 
his  wife  that  it  was  possible  the  Indians  might  venture 
to  make  a  dash  to  carry  off  some  of  the  cattle,  and  that, 
therefore,  he  had  ordered  the  girls  to  be  on  the  lookout, 
and  to  adopt  every  precaution  upon  moving  out.  To 
them  he  made  an  addition  to  his  former  instructions, 
namely,  that  not  only  should  they  look  out  before  leav- 
ing the  inclosure,  but  that,  if  one  went  out,  the  other 
should  go  up  to  the  top  of  the  tower  every  quarter  of  an 
hour  to  see  that  everything  was  still  clear,  and  that  if 
both  were  out,  Sarah  should  do  the  same.  The  boys 
needed  no  instructions  to  load  their  revolving  carbines, 
and  the  pistols  and  a  double-barreled  gun  were  handed 
over  both  to  Lopez  and  Terence,  with  instructions  to 
carry  them  always  with  them.  Lopez  required  no  orders 
on  this  score.  He  knew  what  Indians  were,  and  had  a 
perfect  horror  of  them.  Their  friends  at  Canterbury 
were  also  put  upon  their  guard,  as  their  estates  were  also 
very  much  exposed.  Three  days  passed  over,  and  then 
the  light  iron  plates  arrived  for  the  door  and  window 
shutters.  Before  they  were  nailed  on  large  holes  were 
cut  in  them  for  firing  through,  corresponding  slits  being 
cut  in  the  woodwork.  When  they  were  fastened  in  their 
places  all  felt  that  Mount  Pleasant  could  defy  any 
number  of  assailants. 

Orders  were  given  to  Terence  that  in  case  of  the  dogs 
giving  the  alarm  at  night,  the  occupants  of  the  hut  were 
to  retire  at  once  to  the  house;  to  which  he  replied  char* 
acteristically: 

"Sure,  your  honor,  I  suppose  I  may  stop  for  a  bit  and 
pepper  the  blackguard  »  fin  f.hay  get  close  to  me," 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS.  128 

"Not  at  all,  Terence;  you  are  to  retire  at  once  to  the 
bouse.  When  we  are  once  all  together  we  shall  be  able 
to  decide,  according  to  the  number  of  the  enemy,  as  to 
whether  we  shall  sally  out  and  pepper  them,  or  stand 
upon  the  defensive." 

And  30^  every  one  having  received  their  instructions  in 
case  of  emergency,  things  went  on  pretty  much  as  before. 


O  ITT  ON  THE  PAMPAS 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  LOST  CATTLE. 

A  FOBTNIGHT  passed  without  the  slightest  incident  or 
alarm.  The  rules  which  Mr.  Hardy  had  laid  down  were 
strictly  observed.  The  sheep  and  cattle  were  carefully 
secured  at  night;  two  or  three  of  the  native  dog«s  were 
fastened  up,  down  at  the  fold;  one  of  the  mastiffs  was 
kept  at  the  men's  hut,  while  the  other's  kennel  was 
placed  by  the  house;  the  retrievers,  as  usual,  sleeping 
indoors.  A  flagstaff  was  erected  upon  the  lookout,  with 
a  red  flag  in  readiness  to  be  run  up  to  summon  those  who 
might  be  away  on  the  plain,  and  a  gun  was  kept  loaded 
to  call  attention  to  the  signal.  The  boys,  when  they 
went  out  for  their  rides,  carried  their  carbines  instead  of 
their  guns.  The  girls  fulfilled  the  duties  of  lookouts, 
going  up  every  half-hour  from  daybreak  to  dusk;  and 
the  call  of  "Sister  Anne,  do  you  see  horsemen?"  was  in- 
variably answered  in  the  negative.  One  day,  however, 
Mr.  Hardy  had  ridden  over  to  Canterbury  to  arrange 
with  his  friends  about  hiring  shearers  from  Eosario  for 
the  united  flocks.  The  boys  and  Terence  were  in  the 
fields  plowing,  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the 
house,  when  they  were  startled  by  the  sound  of  a  gun. 
Looking  round,  they  saw  both  the  girls  standing  upon 
the  tower:  Maud  had  just  fired  the  gun,  and  Ethel  was 
pulling  up  the  flag. 

"Be  jabers!  and  the  Indians  have  come  at  last!'* 
Terence  exclaimed,  and  they  all  three  started  at  a  run. 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

Maud  turned  round  and  waved  her  hand  to  them,  and 
then  she  and  Ethel  continued  looking  over  the  plain.. 
Ai  this  moment  they  were  joined  on  the  tower  by  Mrs. 
Hardy  and  Sarah. 

"It  is  all  right,"  Charley,  who  was  of  an  unexcitabla 
temperament,  said.  "The  Indians  must  be  a  long  way 
off,  or  the  girls  would  be  waving  to  us  to  make  haste. 
Take  it  easy;  we  shall  want  to  keep  our  hands  steady." 

So  they  broke  from  the  headlong  speed  at  which  they 
_had  started  into  a  steady  trot,  which  in  five  minutes 
brought  them  up  to  the  house. 

"What  is  it?"  they  exclaimed  as  they  gained  the  top 
of  the  tower. 

"Oh,  dear,  oh,  dear!"  Ethel  said.  "They  have  got 
all  the  animals." 

"And  I  fear  they  have  killed  Gomez  and  Pedro,"  Mrs. 
Hardy  added. 

It  was  too  evidently  true.  At  a  distance  of  six  miles 
the  boys  could  see  a  dark  mass  rapidly  retreating,  and 
numerous  single  specks  could  be  seen  hovering  round 
them.  Two  miles  from  the  house  a  single  horseman  was 
galloping  wildly.  The  girls  had  already  made  him  out. 
to  be  Lopez. 

The  boys  and  Terence  stood  speechless  with  dismay. 
The  Irishman  was  the  first  to  find  his  tongue0 

"Och,  the  thundering  villains!"  he  exclaimed;  "the 
hathen  thieves!  And  to  think  that  not  one  of  us  was 
there  to  give  them  a  bating." 

"What  will  papa  say?"  Hubert  ejaculated. 

Charley  said  nothing,  but  looked  frowningly,  with 
tightly  closed  lips,  after  the  distant  mass,  while  his  hands 
closed  upon  his  carbine.  "How  was  it,  Maud?"  he 
asked  at  length. 

"I  was  downstairs,"  Maud  said,  "when  Ethel,  who- 
had  just  gone  up,  called  down,  'Come  up,  Maud, 


126  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

quickly;  I  think  that  something's  the  matter/  I  ran  up 
the  steps,  and  I  saw  our  animals  a  long  way  off,  nearly 
four  miles,  and  I  saw  a  black  mass  of  something  going 
along  fast  toward  them  from  the  left.  They  were  rather 
nearer  to  us  than  the  cattle  were,  and  were  in  one  of  the 
slopes  of  the  ground,  so  that  they  would  not  have  been 
seen  by  any  one  with  the  cattle;  then,  as  they  got  quite 
near  the  animals,  I  saw  a  sudden  stir.  The  beasts  began 
to  gallop  away,  and  three  black  specks— who,  I  suppose, 
were  the  men— separated  themselves  from  them  and 
went  off  sideways.  One  seemed  to  get  a  start  of  the 
other  two.  These  were  cut  off  by  the  black  mass,  and  I 
did  not  see  anything  more  of  them.  Lopez  got  away; 
and  though  some  of  the  others  rode  after  him  for  about 
a  mile,  they  could  not  overtake  him.  Directly  I  saw 
what  it  was,  I  caught  up  the  gu,n  and  fired,  and  Ethel 
ran  up  the  flag.  That's  all  I  saw." 

Ethel  confirmed  her  sister's  account,  merely  adding 
that,  seeing  the  two  bodies  in  the  distance,  one  going 
very  fast  toward  the  other,  she  suspected  that  something 
was  wrong,  and  so  called  at  once  to  Maud. 

The  animals  were  now  quite  out  of  sight,  and  the 
whole  party  went  down  to  meet  Lopez,  who  was  just 
riding  up  to  the  inclosure.  He  was  very  pale,  and  his 
horse  was  covered  with  foam. 

"Are  the  peons  killed,  Lopez?"  was  Mrs.  Hardy's  first 
question. 

"I  do  not  know,  signora;  but  I  should  think  so.  The 
Indians  caught  them;  I  heard  a  scream,"  and  the  man 
shuddered.  "Santa  Virgine" — and  he  crossed  himself 
piously — "what  an  escape!  I  will  burn  twenty  pounds 
of  candles  upon  your  altar." 

"How  was  it  that  you  were  surprised,  Lopez?" 
Charley  asked.  "You  were  so  particularly  ordered  to 
keep  a  good  lookout." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"Well,  Signer  Charles,  I  was  keeping  a  good  lookout, 
tnd  it  is  lucky  that  I  was.  I  was  further  away  than  I 
ought  to  have  been — I  know  that,  for  the  signor  told  ma 
not  to  go  far;  but  I  knew  that  the  rise  that  I  took  them 
to  was  the  highest  in  that  direction,  and  that  I  could  see 
for  miles  away  into  the  Indian  country.  So  I  got  out 
there,  and  Pedro  and  Gomez  had  got  the  sheep  and  cattle 
all  well  together,  and  there  was  no  fear  of  them  stray- 
ing, for  the  grass  there  is  very  good.  So  the  men  lay 
down  for  their  siesta,  and  I  was  standing  by  my  horse 
looking  over  the  campo.  Some  of  the  beasts  seemed 
uneasy,  and  I  thought  that  there  must  be  a  lion  some- 
where about.  So  I  got  on  my  horse,  and  just  as  I  did  so 
I  heard  a  noise;  and  looking  behind,  where  I  had  never 
dreamed  of  them,  I  saw  a  lot  of  Indians  coming  up  at 
full  gallop  from  the  hollow.  The  cattle  went  off  at  the 
game  instant;  and  I  gave  a  shout  to  the  men,  and  stuck 
nay  spurs  into  Carlos.  It  was  a  near  touch  of  it,  and 
they  gave  me  a  hard  chase  for  the  first  mile;  but  my 
horse  was  fresher  than  theirs,  and  they  gave  it  up." 

"How  many  Indians  were  there?"  Charley  asked. 

"I  don't  know,  Signor  Charles.  It  was  only  those  in 
front  that  I  caught  sight  of,  and  I  never  looked  round 
after  I  started.  Some  of  them  had  firearms,  for  eight  or 
ten  of  them  fired  after  me  as  I  made  off,  and  the  arrows 
fell  all  round  me." 

"What  do  you  think,  girls,  about  the  number?" 

The  girls  were  silent,  and  then  Ethel  said:  "They 
were  all  in  a  lump,  Charley.  One  could  not  see  them 
separately." 

"The  lump  seemed  to  be  about  the  size  that  our  cattle 
do  when  they  are  close  together  at  the  same  distance. 
Don't  you  think  so,  Ethel?"  Maud  said. 

"Yes,"  Ethel  thought  that  they  were. 

"Then  there  must  be  from  alrundred  to  a  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them,"  Charley  said. 


130  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

inclosure,  girls,  until  we  return.  Terence,  too,  is  to 
remain  inside,  and  can  sleep  in  the  house  to-night;  so 
also  can  Lopez.  You  will  therefore  be  well  protected. 
Let  us  have  something  to  eat,  and  then  in  ten  minutes 
we  will  be  in  the  saddle.  Charley,  fetch  down  three 
blue-lights,  two  signal  rockets,  and  two  of  the  tin  rockets. 
Maud,  fill  our  pocket-flasks  with  brandy.  Hubert,  you 
boys  will  each  take  your  carbine  and  a  revolver;  I  will 
carry  my  long  rifle,  and  the  other  two  Colts." 

In  ten  minutes  they  were  ready  to  mount,  and  after  a 
final  embrace,  and  many  a  "Be  sure  and  take  care  of 
yourselves"  from  their  mother  and  sisters,  they  started 
off  across  the  plain  at  a  long,  steady  gallop. 

"They  have  got  just  an  hour's  start,  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy 
said.  "Your  mother  said  that  it  was  exactly  half  an 
hour  from  the  first  alarm  to  my  arrival,  and  I  was  in 
the  house  a  minute  or  two  under  that  time.  It  is  about 
half-past  twelve  now." 

"It  is  very  fortunate,  papa,  that  we  had  our  horsea 
safe  up  at  the  house." 

"Yes,  boys.  If  we  had  been  obliged  to  wait  until  to- 
morrow morning  before  starting,  our  chance  of  coming 
up  would  have  been  very  slight.  As  it  is,  we  shall  be  up 
with  them  in  three  or  four  hours.  The  sheep  cannot  go 
really  fast  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  especially 
with  their  heavy  fleeces  on." 

Half  an  hour's  riding  took  them  to  the  scene  of  the 
attack.  As  they  neared  it  they  saw  two  figures  lying 
upon  the  grass.  There  was  no  occasion  to  go  near:  the 
stiff  and  distorted  attitudes  were  sufficient  to  show  that 
they  were  dead. 

Mr.  Hardy  purposely  avoided  riding  close  to  them, 
knowing  that  the  shocking  sight  of  men  who  have  met 
with  a  violent  death  is  apt  to  shake  the  nerves  of  any  one 
unaccustomed  to  such  a  sight,  however  brave  he  may  be. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  131 

"They  are  evidently  dead,  poor  fellows!"  h©  said. 
"It  is  no  use  our  stopping." 

Charley  looked  at  the  bodies  with  a  fierce  frown  upon 
his  face,  and  muttered  to  himself,  "We'll  pay  them  out 
for  you,  the  cowardly  scoundrels." 

Hubert  did  not  even  glance  toward  them.  He  was  a 
tender-hearted  boy  and  he  felt  his  face  grow  pale  and  a 
strange  feeling  of  sickness  come  over  him,  even  at  the 
momentary  glance  which  he  had  at  first  taken  at  the 
rigid  figures. 

"I  suppose  you  do  not  mean  to  attack  them  until 
night,  papa?"  Charley  asked. 

"Well,  boys,  I  have  been  thinking  the  matter  over, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  will  be  better 
to  do  so  directly  we  get  up  to  them." 

"And  do  you  think,  papa,  that  we  three  will  be  able 
to  thrash  the  lot  of  them?  They  must  be  a  poor,  miser- 
able set  of  cowards." 

"No,  Charley;  I  do  not  think  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
thrash  the  lot,  as  you  say;  but  with  our  weapons,  we 
shall  be  able  to  give  them  a  terrible  lesson.  If  we  attack 
at  night  they  will  soon  find  out  how  few  are  our  num- 
bers, and  having  no  particular  dread  of  our  weapons, 
may  rush  at  us,  and  overpower  us  in  spite  of  them. 
Another  thing,  boys,  is,  I  want  to  give  them  a  lesson. 
They  must  know  that  they  shan't  come  and  murder  and 
steal  on  our  place  with  impunity." 

Scarcely  another  word  was  exchanged  for  the  next 
hour.  At  a  long,  steady  gallop  they  swept  along. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  following  the  track,  for  the 
long  grass  was  trampled  in  a  wide  swath.  Several 
times,  too,  exclamations  of  rage  burst  from  the  boys  as 
they  came  across  a  dead  sheep,  evidently  speared  by  the 
savages  because  he  coufd  not  keep  up  with  the  others. 
After  passing  several  of  them,  Mr.  Hardy  called  to  the 


133  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

boys  to  halt,  while  he  leaped  off  his  horse  by  the  side  of 
one  of  the  sheep,  and  put  his  hand  against  its  body  and 
into  its  month. 

"It's  quite  dead;  isn't  it,  papa?"  Hubert  said. 

"Quite,  Hubert;  I  never  thought  it  was  alive."  And 
Hr.  Hardy  leaped  upon  his  horse  again.  "I  wanted  to 
see  how  warm  the  body  was.  If  we  try  again  an  hour's 
ride  ahead,  we  shall  be  able  to  judge,  by  the  increased 
heat  of  the  body,  as  to  how  much  we  have  gained  on  the 
Indians,  and  whether  they  are  far  ahead.  You  see,  boys, 
when  I  was  young  man,  I  was  out  many  times  in  Texas 
against  the  Comanches  and  Apaches,  who  are  a  very  dif- 
ferent enemy  from  these  cowardly  Indians  here.  One 
had  to  keep  one's  eyes  open  there,  for  they  were  every 
bit  as  brave  as  we  were.  Don't  push  on  so  fast,  Charley. 
Spare  your  horse;  you  will  want  all  he's  got  in  him  be- 
fore you  have  done.  I  think  that  we  must  be  gaining 
upon  them  very  fast  now.  You  see  the  dead  sheep  lie 
every  hundred  yards  or  so,  instead  of  every  quarter  of  a 
mile.  The  Indians  know  well  enough  that  it  would  take 
a  whole  day  out  on  the  edge  of  the  settlements  to  collect 
a  dozen  men  for  pursuit,  and  would  have  no  idea  that 
three  men  would  set  off  alone;  so  I  expect  that  they  will 
now  have  slackened  their  pace  a  little,  to  give  the  sheep 
breathing  time." 

After  another  ten  minutes'  ride  Mr.  Hardy  again 
alighted,  and  found  a  very  perceptible  increase  of 
warmth  in  the  bodies  of  the  sheep.  "I  do  not  think 
that  they  can  have  been  dead  much  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  hour.  Keep  a  sharp  lookout  ahead,  boys;  we  may 
see  them  at  the  top  of  the  next  rise." 

Not  a  word  was  spoken  for  the  next  few  minutes. 
Two  or  three  slight  swells  were  crossed  without  any  sign 
of  the  enemy;  and  then,  upon  breasting  a  rather  higher 
rise  than  usual,  they  saw  a  mass  of  moving  beings  in  the 
distance. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  133 

"Halt!"  Mr.  Hardy  shouted,  and  the  boys  instantly 
drew  rein.  "Jump  off,  boys.  Only  our  heads  have 
shown  against  the  sky.  They  can  hardly  have  noticed 
them.  There,  hold  my  horse;  loosen  the  saddle-girths 
of  yours  too,  and  let  them  breathe  freely.  Take  the 
bridles  out  of  their  mouths.  It  seemed  to  me,  by  the 
glimpse  I  got  of  our  enemies,  that  they  were  just  stop- 
ping. I  am  going  on  to  make  sure  of  it." 

So  saying  Mr.  Hardy  again  went  forward  a  short  dis- 
tance, going  on  his  hands  and  knees  as  he  came  on  to  the 
crest  of  the  rise,  in  order  that  his  head  might  not  show 
above  the  long  grass.  When  he  reached  it  he  saw  at 
once  that  his  first  impression  had  been  correct.  At  a 
distance  of  a  little  over  a  mile  a  mass  of  animals  were 
collected,  and  round  them  were  scattered  a  number  of 
horses,  while  figures  of  men  were  moving  among  them. 

"It  is  as  I  thought,  boys,"  he  said  when  he  rejoined 
his  sons.  "They  have  stopped  for  awhile.  The  animals 
must  all  be  completely  done  up;  they  cannot  have  coma 
less  than  thirty  miles,  and  will  require  three  or  four 
hours'  rest,  at  the  least,  before  they  are  fit  to  travel 
again.  One  hour  will  do  for  our  horses.  Rinse  their 
mouths  out  with  a  little  water,  and  let  them  graze  if  they 
are  disposed:  in  half  an  hour  we  will  give  them  each  a 
double  handful  of  Indian  corn." 

Having  attended  to  their  horses,  which  they  hobbled 
to  prevent  their  straying,  Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys  sat 
down  and  made  a  slight  meal.  None  of  them  felt  very 
hungry,  the  excitement  of  the  approaching  attack  having 
driven  away  the  keen  appetite  that  they  would  have 
otherwise  gained  from  their  ride;  but  Mr.  Hardy  begged 
the  boys  to  endeavor  to  eat  something,  as  they  would  be 
sure  to  feel  the  want  of  food  later. 

The  meal  over,  Mr.  Hardy  lit  his  favorite  pipe,  while 
the  boys  went  cautiously  up  the  hill  to  reconnoiter. 


134  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

There  was  no  change;  most  of  the  animals  were  lying 
down,  and  there  was  little  sign  of  movement.  Two  or 
three  Indians,  however,  were  standing  motionless  and 
rigid  by  their  horses'  sides,  evidently  acting  as  sentries. 
The  boys  thought  that  hour  the  longest  that  they  had 
ever  passed.  At  last,  however,  their  father  looked  at  his 
watch,  shook  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket.  "Now,  boys,  it  is  five  minutes  to  the  hour. 
Examine  your  carbines  and  revolvers,  see  that  every- 
thing is  in  order,  and  that  there  is  no  hitch.  Tighten 
the  saddle-girths  and  examine  the  buckles.  See  that 
your  ammunition  and  spare  carbine  chambers  are  ready 
at  hand." 

In  another  five  minutes  the  party  were  in  their 
saddles. 

"Now,  boys,  my  last  words.  Don't  ride  ahead  or  lag 
behind:  regulate  your  pace  by  mine.  Look  out  for 
armadillo  holes  —  they  are  more  dangerous  than  the 
Indians.  Remember  my  orders:  on  no  account  use  the 
second  chamber  of  your  carbines  unless  in  case  of  great 
urgency.  Change  the  chambers  directly  you  have 
emptied  them,  but  don't  fire  a  shot  until  the  spare  ones 
are  charged  again.  Now,  boys,  hurrah  for  old  England!" 

"Hurrah!"  the  boys  both  shouted  as  they  started  at  a 
canter  up  the  rise.  As  they  caught  sight  of  the  Indians 
everything  was  quiet  as  before;  but  in  another  moment 
they  saw  the  men  on  watch  throw  themselves  on  to  their 
horses'  backs,  figures  leaped  up  from  the  grass  and  ran 
toward  their  horses,  and  in  little  over  a  minute  the 
whole  were  in  motion. 

"Surely  they  are  not  going  to  run  away  from  three 
men!"  Charley  said  in  a  disgusted  tone. 

"They  won't  run  far,  Charley,"  Mr.  Hardy  said 
quietly.  "By  the  time  that  we  are  halfway  to  them  they 
will  see  that  we  can  have  no  one  with  us,  and  then  they 
will  come  on  quickly  enough." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  135 

It  was  as  Mr.  Hardy  said.  Keen  as  had  been  the 
watch  kept  by  the  Indians,  in  spite  of  their  belief  that 
no  pursuing  force  could  be  sent  after  them,  it  was  some 
little  time  before  they  could  get  the  weary  animals  on 
their  legs  and  in  motion;  and  even  at  the  easy  canter  at 
which  Mr.  Hardy  approached,  he  had  neared  them  to 
within  half  a  mile  before  they  were  fairly  off.  A  small 
party  only  continued  to  drive  the  animals,  and  the  rest 
of  the  Indians,  wheeling  sharp  round,  and  uttering  a  wild 
war-cry,  came  back  at  full  gallop  toward  the  whites. 

"Halt,  boys — steady,  dismount:  take  up  your  positiona 
quietly.  Don't  fire  till  I  give  you  the  word.  I  shall  try 
my  rifle  first." 

The  well-trained  horses,  accustomed  to  their  masters 
firing  from  their  backs,  stood  as  steady  as  if  carved  in 
stone,  their  heads  turned  inquiringly  toward  the  yelling 
throng  of  horsemen  who  were  approaching.  Mr.  Hardy 
and  the  boys  had  both  dismounted,  so  that  the  horses 
were  between  them  and  the  Indians,  the  saddles  serving 
as  rests  for  their  firearms. 

"Five  hundred  yards,  Charley?"  his  father  asked 
quietly. 

"A  little  over,  papa;  nearly  six,  I  should  say." 

Mr.  Hardy  waited  another  ten  seconds,  and  then  his 
rifle  cracked;  and  a  yell  of  astonishment  and  rage  broke 
from  the  Indians,  as  one  of  their  chiefs,  conspicuous 
from  an  old  dragoon  helmet,  taken  probably  in  some 
skirmish  with  the  soldiers,  fell  from  his  horse. 

"Hurrah!"  Charley  cried.     "Shall  we  fire  now,  papa?" 

"No,  Charley,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  as  he  reloaded  his 
rifle;  "wait  till  they  are  four  hundred  yards  off,  then  fire 
slowly.  Count  ten  between  each  shot,  and  take  as 
steady  an  aim  as  possible.  Now!  Well  done,  two  more 
of  the  scoundrels  down.  Steady,  Hubert,  you  missed 
that  time:  there,  that's  better." 


136  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

The  Indians  yelled  with  rage  and  astonishment  as  man 
after  man  dropped  before  the  steady  and,  to  them,  mys- 
terious fire  which  was  kept  up  upon  them.  Still  they 
did  not  abate  the  rapidity  of  their  charge. 

"Done,  papa,"  Charley  said  as  the  two  boys  simulta- 
neously fired  their  last  shot, when  the  leading  Indians  were 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant. 

"Change  your  chambers  and  mount/'  Mr.  Hardy  said 
as  he  again  took  aim  with  his  rifle. 

The  enemy  was  not  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  distant,  when  they  leaped  into  their  saddles  and 
started  at  a  gallop. 

"Steady,  boys,  keep  your  horses  well  in  hand*  Never 
mind  their  balls;  they  could  no  more  hit  a  man  at  this 
distance  from  the  back  of  a  horse  than  they  could  fly. 
There  is  no  chance  of  their  catching  us;  there  won't  be 
many  horses  faster  than  ours,  and  ours  are  a  good  deal 
fresher.  Keep  a  good  lookout  for  holes." 

Both  pursuers  and  pursued  were  now  going  over  the 
ground  at  a  tremendous  pace.  The  Indians  had  ceased 
firing,  for  most  of  those  who  had  guns  had  discharged 
them  as  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons  had  mounted,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  load  at  the  speed  at  which  they  were 
going. 

During  the  first  mile  of  the  chase  Mr.  Hardy  had 
looked  round  several  times,  and  had  said  each  time,  "We 
are  holding  our  own,  boys;  they  are  a  good  hundred 
yards  behind;  keep  your  horses  in  hand." 

At  the  end  of  another  mile  his  face  brightened  as  he 
looked  round.  "All  right,  boys,  they  are  tailing  off  fast. 
Three-quarters  of  them  have  stopped  already.  There 
are  not  above  a  score  of  the  best  mounted  anywhere  near 
us.  Another  mile  and  we  will  give  them  a  lesson." 

The  mile  was  soon  traversed,  and  Mr.  Hardy  saw  that 
only  about  twelve  Indians  had  maintained  their  dis- 
tance. 


ONSET  OP  THE  INDIANS.— Page  136. 


V  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  137 

"Now  is  the  time,  boys.  When  I  say  halt,  draw  up 
and  jump  off,  but  take  very  steady  aim  always  at  the 
nearest.  Don't  throw  away  a  shot.  They  are  only  a 
hundred  yards  off,  and  the  revolvers  will  tell.  Don't 
try  to  use  the  second  chamber;  there  is  no  time  for  that. 
Use  your  pistols  when  you  have  emptied  your  carbines. 
Halt!" 

Not  five  seconds  elapsed  after  the  word  was  spoken 
before  Charley's  carbine  rang  out.  Then  came  the 
sharp  cracks  of  the  carbines  and  pistols  in  close  succes- 
sion. The  Indians  hesitated  at  the  tremendous  fire 
which  was  opened  upon  them,  then  halted.  The  delay 
was  fatal  to  them.  In  little  over  half  a  minute  the 
eighteen  shots  had  been  fired.  Five  Indians  lay  upon  the 
plain;  another,  evidently  a  chief,  had  been  carried  off 
across  the  saddle  of  one  of  his  followers,  who  had  leaped 
off  when  he  saw  him  fall;  and  two  others  were  evidently 
wounded,  and  had  difficulty  in  keeping  their  seats. 

"Now,  boys,  change  your  chambers,  and  take  a  shot 
or  two  after  them,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  as  he  again  reloaded 
his  rifle. 

The  boys,  however,  found  by  the  time  they  were 
ready  that  the  flying  Indians  were  beyond  any  fair 
chance  of  hitting;  but  their  father  took  a  long  and 
steady  aim  with  his  deadly  rifle,  and  upon  its  report  a 
horse  and  man  went  down.  But  the  rider  was  in  an 
instant  upon  his  feet  again,  soon  caught  one  of  the  rider- 
less horses  which  had  galloped  off  with  its  companions, 
and  followed  his  comrades. 

"Well  done,  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  with  a  hearty  pat 
on  their  shoulders.  "You  have  done  gallantly  for  a  first 
fight,  and  I  feel  proud  of  you." 

Both  boys  colored  with  pleasure. 

"How  many  have  we  killed?" 

"I  think  seven  fell  at  our  first  attack,  papa,  and  six 


138  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

here,  counting  the  one  they  carried  off,  besides 
wounded." 

"Thirteen.  It  is  enough  to  make  them  heartily  wish 
themselves  back.  Now  let  us  give  the  horses  ten  min- 
utes' rest,  and  then  we  will  stir  them  up  again.  We 
must  not  lose  time;  it  will  be  sunset  in  another  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour." 

Half  an  hour's  riding  again  brought  them  up  to  the 
Indians,  who  had  stopped  within  a  mile  of  their  former 
halting-place. 

"The  moon  will  be  up  by  one  o'clock,  boys,  and  they 
mean  to  remain  where  they  are  till  then.  Do  you  see 
that  hollow  that  runs  just  this  side  of  where  they  are? 
2s0  doubt  there  is  a  small  stream  there." 

This  time  the  Indians  made  no  move  to  retreat  fur- 
ther. They  knew  now  that  their  assailants  were  only 
three  in  number.  They  were  armed,  indeed,  with 
weapons  which,  in  their  terrible  rapidity  of  fire,  were 
altogether  beyond  anything  they  had  hitherto  seen;  but 
ia  the  darkness  these  would  be  of  no  avail  against  a 
sudden  rush. 

But  if  the  Indians  did  not  run  away  neither  did  they, 
as  before,  attack  their  assailants.  Their  horses  had  been 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  cattle,  with  a  few  Indians 
standing  by  them  to  keep  them  quiet.  The  rest  of  the 
Indians  were  not  to  be  seen,  but  Mr.  Hardy  guessed  that 
they  were  lying  down  in  the  long  grass,  or  were  concealed 
among  the  animals. 

"The  rascals  have  got  a  clever  chief  among  them,  boys. 
Except  those  half-dozen  heads  we  see  over  the  horses' 
backs,  there  is  nothing  to  see  of  them.  They  know  that 
if  we  go  close  they  can  pick  us  off  with  their  guns  and 
bows  and  arrows,  without  giving  us  a  single  fair  shot  at 
them.  Don't  go  any  nearer,  boys;  no  doubt  there  ara 
many  of  their  best  shots  hidden  in  the  grass." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"We  could  scatter  the  cattle  with  a  rocket,  papa." 

"Yes,  we  could,  Hubert,  but  we  should  gain  nothing 
by  it;  they  have  got  men  by  their  horses,  and  would  soon 
get  the  herd  together  again.  No,  we  will  keep  that  for 
the  night.  Halloo!  to  the  right,  boys,  for  your  lives." 

Not  a  moment  too  soon  did  Mr.  Hardy  perceive  the 
danger.  The  chief  of  the  Indians,  expecting  another 
attack,  had  ordered  twenty  of  his  best  mounted  men  to 
separate  themselves  from  the  main  body,  and  to  hide 
themselves  in  a  dip  of  the  ground  near  the  place  where 
the  first  attack  had  taken  place.  They  were  to  allow  the 
whites  to  pass,  and  were  then  to  follow  quietly,  and  fall 
suddenly  upon  them. 

Complete  success  had  attended  the  maneuver;  and  it 
was  fortunate  that  the  party  had  no  firearms,  these  hav- 
ing been  distributed  among  the  main  body  with  the 
cattle,  for  they  were  within  forty  yards  of  Mr.  Hardy 
before  they  were  seen.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  repetition  of 
the  maneuver  which  had  proved  so  successful  in  their 
attack  upon  the  cattle. 

They  were  not  immediately  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Hardy, 
but  rather  to  the  left.  As  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons 
turned  to  fly,  a  number  of  Indians  sprang  upon  their 
feet  from  among  the  grass,  and  discharged  a  volley  of 
guns  and  arrows  at  them.  Fortunately  the  distance  was 
considerable.  One  of  their  arrows,  however,  struck  Mr. 
Hardy's  horse  in  the  shoulder,  while  another  stuck  in 
the  rider's  arm.  Another  went  through  the  calf  of 
Hubert's  leg,  and  stuck  in  the  flap  of  the  saddle. 

There  was  no  time  for  word  or  complaint.  They 
buried  their  spurs  in  their  horses'  sides,  and  the  gallant 
animals,  feeling  that  the  occasion  was  urgent,  seemed 
almost  to  fly.  In  a  mile  they  were  able  to  break  into  a 
steady  gallop,  the  enemy  being  now  seventy  or  eighty 
yards  behind.  Mr.  Hardy  had  already  pulled  the  arrow 


140  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

from  his  arm,  and  Hubert  now  extracted  his.  As  he 
stooped  to  do  so  his  father,  who  had  not  noticed  that  he 
was  wounded,  saw  what  he  was  doing. 

"Hurt  much,  old  man?" 

"Not  much/'  Hubert  said;  but  it  did  hurt  a  good  deal 
nevertheless. 

"I  don't  want  to  tire  our  horses  any  more,  boys,"  Mr. 
Hardy  said;  "I  shall  try  and  stop  those  rascals  with  one 
of  my  revolvers." 

So  saying,  he  drew  one  of  his  pistols  from  his  holster, 
and  turning  round  in  his  saddle,  took  a  steady  aim  and 
fired. 

At  the  same  instant,  however,  his  horse  trod  in  a  hole 
and  fell,  Mr.  Hardy  being  thrown  over  its  head  with  tre- 
mendous force.  The  boys  reined  their  horses  hard  in, 
and  Hubert  gave  a  loud  cry  as  he  saw  his  father  remain 
stiff  and  unmoved  on  the  ground.  The  Indians  set  up  a 
wild  yell  of  triumph. 

"Steady,  Hubert.  Jump  off.  Pick  up  papa's  pistol. 
Arrange  the  horses  in  a  triangle  round  him.  That's 
right.  Now  don't  throw  away  a  shot." 

The  nearest  Indian  was  scarcely  thirty  yards  off  when 
Charley's  bullet  crashed  into  his  brain.  The  three  im- 
mediately following  him  fell  in  rapid  succession,  another 
chief's  arm  sank  useless  to  his  side,  while  the  horse  of 
another  fell,  shot  through  the  brain. 

Both  the  boys  were  pale,  but  their  hands  were  as 
steady  as  iron.  They  felt  as  if,  with  their  father  lying 
insensible  under  their  protection,  they  could  not  miss. 

So  terrible  was  the  destruction  which  the  continued 
fire  wrought  among  the  leaders  that  the  others  instinc- 
tively checked  the  speed  of  their  horses  as  they 
approached  the  little  group,  from  which  fire  and  balls 
seemed  to  stream,  and  began  to  discharge  arrows  at  the 
boys,  hanging  on  the  other  side  of  their  horses,  so  that 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  141 

by  their  foes  they  could  not  be  seen,  a  favorite  maneuver 
with  the  Indians.  As  the  boys  fired  their  last  barrels 
they  drew  their  revolvers  from  the  holsters,  and,  taking 
aim  as  the  Indians  showed  a  head  or  an  arm  under  their 
horses'  necks  or  over  their  backs,  their  twelve  barrels 
added  to  the  Indians  scattered  over  the  ground. 

"Now,  Hubert,  give  me  the  two  last  revolvers,  and  put 
the  two  fresh  chambers  into  the  carbines." 

Seeing  only  one  of  their  foes  on  the  defense,  the  In- 
dians again  made  a  rush  forward.  Charley  shot  the  two 
first  with  a  revolver,  but  the  others  charged  up,  and  he 
stooped  a  moment  to  avoid  a  spear,  rising  a  little  on  one 
side,  and  discharging  with  both  hands  his  pistols  at  the 
Indians,  who  were  now  close.  "Quick,  Hubert,"  he 
said,  as  he  shot  with  his  last  barrel  an  Indian  who  had 
just  driven  his  spear  into  the  heart  of  Mr.  Hardy's  horse. 

The  animal  fell  dead  as  it  stood,  and  the  Indians  with 
a  yell  charged  at  the  opening,  but  as  they  did  so  Hubert 
slipped  a  carbine  into  his  brother's  hand,  and  the  two 
again  poured  in  the  deadly  fire  which  had  so  checked  the 
Indians'  advance. 

The  continuation  of  the  fire  appalled  the  Indians,  and 
the  seven  that  survived  turned  and  fled. 

"I  will  load,  Hubert,"  Charley  said,  trying  to  speak 
steadily.  "See  to  papa  at  once.  Empty  one  of  the 
water-gourds  upon  his  face  and  head." 

Hubert  looked  down  with  a  cold  shudder.  Neither  of 
the  boys  had  dared  to  think  during  that  brief  fight. 
They  had  had  many  falls  before  on  the  soft  turf  of  the 
pampas,  but  no  hurt  had  resulted,  and  both  were  more 
frightened  at  the  insensibility  of  their  father  than  at  the 
Indian  horde  which  were  so  short  a  distance  away,  and 
•which  would  no  doubt  return  in  a  few  minutes  in  over- 
whelming force. 
i  Great,  then,  was  Hubert's  delight,  when  upon  looking 


142  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

round  he  saw  that  Mr.  Hardy  had  raised  himself  with 
his  arms. 

"What  has  happened?"  he  said  in  a  confused  manner. 

"Are  you  hurt,  papa?"  Hubert  asked,  with  tears  of 
joy  running  down  his  face;  "you  frightened  us  both  so 
dreadfully.  Please  drink  a  little  water,  and  I  will  pour 
a  little  over  your  face." 

Mr.  Hardy,  drank  some  water,  and  Hubert  dashed 
some  more  in  his  face.  "That  will  do,  Hubert,"  he  said 
with  a  smile;  "you  will  drown  me.  There,  I  am  all 
right  now.  I  was  stunned,  I  suppose.  There  you  are," 
and  he  got  up  on  to  his  feet;  "you  see  I  am  not  hurt. 
And  now,  where  are  the  Indians?" 

"There,  papa,"  said  the  boys  with  pardonable  triumph, 
as  they  pointed  to  thirteen  dead  Indians. 

Their  father  could  not  speak.  He  grasped  their  hands 
warmly.  He  saw  how  great  the  danger  must  have  been, 
and  how  gallantly  his  boys  must  have  borne  themselves. 

"The  Indians  may  be  back  in  a  few  minutes,  papa. 
Your  horse  is  dead,  but  there  is  one  of  the  Indians' 
standing  by  his  dead  master.  Let  us  catch  him  and  shift 
the  saddle."  The  animal,  when  they  approached  it, 
made  no  move  to  take  flight,  and  they  saw  that  his 
master's  foot,  as  he  fell,  had  become  entangled  in  the 
Jasso,  and  the  well-trained  beast  had  stood  without  mov- 
ing. In  three  minutes  the  saddles  were  transferred,  and 
the  party  again  ready  for  fight  or  flight. 

"What  next,  papa?" 

"We  turned  to  the  right,  and  rather  toward  home, 
when  we  started;  so  the  Indian  halting-place  is  to  the 
southeast  of  us,  is  it  not?" 

"Yes,  papa;  as  near  as  may  be,"  Charley  said,  making 
out  the  points  with  some  difficulty  on  the  pocket  com- 
pass, one  of  which  they  each  carried,  as  the  danger  of 
being  lost  upon  the  pathless  pampas  is  very  great. 


I  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  143 

"We  had  ridden  about  two  miles  when  I  got  my  fall, 
so  we  are  a  mile  to  the  west  of  their  camp.  "We  will  ride 
now  a  couple  of  miles  due  north.  The  Indians  are  sure 
to  send  out  a  scout  to  see  whether  we  have  returned 
liome,  and  our  track  will  lead  them  to  believe  that  we 
liave.  It  is  dusk  now.  We  shall  get  three  hours'  rest 
before  we  have  to  move." 

It  was  perfectly  dark  before  they  reached  their  halt- 
ing-place. The  saddles  were  again  loosened,  a  little 
Indian  corn,  moistened  with  water,  given  to  the  horses, 
and  another  slight  meal  taken  by  themselves.  The  boys, 
l)y  Mr.  Hardy's  orders,  though  sorely  against  their  own 
wishes,  then  lay  down  to  get  a  couple  of  hours'  sleep; 
while  Mr.  Hardy  went  back  about  a  hundred  yards  along 
the  trail  they  had  made  on  coming,  and  then  turned 
aside  and  sat  down  at  a  distance  of  a  few  yards  to  watch, 
in  case  any  Indian  should  have  followed  up  their  trail. 

Here  he  sat  for  over  two  hours,  and  then  returned  to 
the  boys.  Charley  he  found  fast  asleep.  The  pain  of 
Hubert's  wound  had  kept  him  awake.  Mr.  Hardy  poured 
Borne  water  over  the  bandage,  and  then,  waking  Charley, 
gave  them  instructions  as  to  the  part  they  were  to  play. 

Both  of  them  felt  rather  uncomfortable  when  they 
heard  that  they  were  to  be  separated  from  their  father. 
They  raised  no  objections,  however,  and  promised  to 
obey  his  instructions  to  the  letter.  They  then  mounted 
their  horses — Hubert  having  to  be  lifted  up,  for  his  leg 
was  now  very  stiff  and  sore — and  then  began  to  retrace 
their  steps,  keeping  a  hundred  yards  or  so  to  the  west  of 
the  track  by  which  they  had  come. 

They  rode  in  single  file,  and  they  had  taken  the  precau- 
tion of  fastening  a  piece  of  tape  round  their  horses' 
nostrils  and  mouth,  to  prevent  their  snorting  should 
they  approach  any  of  their  own  species.  The  night  was 
dark,  but  the  stars  shone  out  clear  and  bright.  At  start- 


144  0  UT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

ing  Mr.  Hardy  had  opened  his  watch,  and  had  felt  by 
the  hands  that  it  was  ten  o'clock.  After  some  time  ha 
felt  again. 

It  was  just  half  an  hour  from  the  time  of  their  start- 
ing. 

"Now,  boys,  we  are  somewhere  close  to  the  place  of 
your  fight.  In  another  ten  minutes  we  must  separate." 

At  the  end  of  that  time  they  again  closed  up. 

"Now,  boys,  you  see  that  bright  star.  That  is  nearly 
due  east  of  us;  go  on  as  nearly  as  you  can  guess  for  ten. 
minutes,  at  a  walk,  as  before.  You  will  then  be  within. 
a  mile  of  the  enemy.  Then  get  off  your  horses.  Mind, 
on  no  account  whatever  are  you  to  leave  their  bridles, 
but  stand  with  one  hand  on  the  saddle,  ready  to  throw 
yourself  into  it.  Keep  two  blue-lights,  and  give  me  one. 
Don't  speak  a  word,  but  listen  as  if  your  lives  depended 
upon  detecting  a  sound,  as  indeed  they  do.  You  are  to 
remain  there  until  you  see  that  I  have  fairly  succeeded 
and  then  you  are  to  dash  in  behind  the  cattle  and  fire  off 
your  revolvers,  and  shout  so  as  to  quicken  their  pace  as 
much  as  possible.  I  do  not  think  there  is  the  least  fear 
of  the  Indians  following,  the  rockets  will  scare  them  too 
much.  When  you  have  chased  the  herd  for  about  two 
miles,  draw  aside  half  a  mile  on  their  side,  and  then 
listen  for  the  Indians  passing  in  pursuit  of  the  cattle; 
wait  ten  minutes,  and  then  blow  your  dog-whistle — a 
sharp,  short  note.  If  you  hear  Indians  following  you,  or 
think  there  is  danger,  blow  twice,  and  go  still  further  to 
the  right.  God  bless  you,  boys.  I  don't  think  there  is 
much  fear  of  your  falling  upon  any  scouts;  they  have 
been  too  badly  cut  up  to-day,  and  must  look  upon  our 
guns  as  witches.  I  need  not  say  keep  together,  and,  if 
attacked,  light  a  blue-light  and  throw  it  down;  ride  a 
short  way  out  of  its  circle  of  light,  and  I  will  come 
straight  to  you  through  everything.  Don't  be  nervous 
about  me.  There  is  not  the  least  danger." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  145 

i 

In  another  minute  the  boys  lost  sight  of  their  father, 
and  turning  their  horses  proceeded  in  the  direction  he 
had  ordered.  Every  now  and  then  they  stopped  to 
listen,  but  not  a  sound  could  they  hear.  Their  own 
horses'  hoofs  made  no  noise  as  they  fell  upon  the  soft 
turf. 

At  the  end  of  the  ten  minutes,  just  as  Charley  was 
thinking  of  stopping,  they  heard  a  sound  which  caused 
them  to  halt  simultaneously.  It  was  the  low  baa  of  a 
sheep,  and  seemed  to  come  from  directly  ahead  of  them. 
Charley  now  alighted,  and  Hubert  brought  his  horse  up 
beside  him,  keeping  his  place,  however,  in  the  saddle, 
but  leaning  forward  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  for  he  felt 
that  if  he  got  off  he  should  be  unable  to  regain  his  seat 
hurriedly  in  case  of  alarm. 

"About  a  mile  off,  I  should  say,  by  the  sound," 
Charley  whispered;  "and  just  in  the  direction  we 
expected." 

The  spot  Charley  had  chosen  for  the  halt  was  a  slight 
hollow,  running  east  and  west;  so  that,  even  had  the 
moon  been  up,  they  would  not  have  been  visible  except 
to  any  one  in  the  line  of  the  hollow. 

Here,  their  carbines  cocked  and  ready  for  instant  use, 
they  remained  standing  for  what  appeared  to  them  ages, 
listening  with  the  most  intense  earnestness  for  any  sound 
which  might  tell  of  the  failure  or  success  of  their 
father's  enterprise. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  ridden  on  for,  as  nearly  as  he  could 
tell,  two  miles,  so  that  he  was  now  to  the  southwest  of 
the  enemy;  then,  turning  west,  he  kept  along  for 
another  mile,  when  he  judged  that  he  was,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  a  mile  in  their  direct  rear.  He  now  advanced 
with  the  greatest  caution,  every  faculty  absorbed  in  the 
sense  of  listening.  He  was  soon  rewarded  by  the  sound 
of  the  baaing  of  the  sheep;  and  dismounting  and  leading 


146  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

his  horse,  he  gradually  approached  the  spot.  At  last,  on 
ascending  a  slight  rise,  he  fancied  that  he  could  make  out 
a  black  mass,  at  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Of 
this,  however,  he  was  not  certain;  but  he  was  sure,  from 
an  occasional  sound,  that  the  herd  was  exactly  in  thia 
direction,  and  at  about  that  distance. 

He  now  left  his  horse,  taking  the  precaution  of  tying 
all  four  legs,  to  prevent  his  starting  off  at  the  sound  of 
the  rockets.  He  next  set  to  work  to  cut  some  turf,  with 
•which  he  formed  a  narrow  sloping  bank,  with  a  hollow 
for  the  rocket  to  rest  in — calculating  the  exact  distance, 
and  the  angle  required.  During  this  operation  he 
stopped  every  minute  or  two  and  listened  with  his  ear  on 
the  ground;  but  except  a  faint  stamping  noise  from  the 
distant  cattle  all  was  quiet. 

All  being  prepared,  Mr.  Hardy  took  the  signal  rocket, 
and  placing  it  at  a  much  higher  angle  than  that  intended 
for  the  others,  struck  a  match  and  applied  it  to  the 
touch-paper.  In  a  moment  afterward  there  was  a  loud 
roar,  and  the  rocket  soared  up,  with  its  train  of  brilliant 
sparks  behind  it,  and  burst  almost  over  the  Indian 
camp.  Five  or  six  balls  of  an  intense  white  light  broke 
from  it,  and  gradually  fell  toward  the  ground,  lighting 
up  the  whole  surrounding  plain. 

A  yell  of  astonishment  and  fear  broke  from  the 
Indians,  and  in  a  moment  another  rocket  rushed  out. 

Mr.  Hardy  watched  its  fiery  way  with  anxiety,  and  saw 
'with  delight  that  its  direction  was  true.  Describing  a 
slight  curve,  it  rushed  full  at  the  black  mass,  struck 
something,  turned  abruptly,  and  then  exploded  with  a 
loud  report,  followed  instantly  by  a  cracking  noise,  like 
a  straggling  fusillade  of  musketry. 

It  had  scarcely  ceased  before  the  third  followed  it, 
greeted,  like  its  predecessors,  with  a  yell  from  the 
Indians. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Its  success  was  equal  to  that  of  its  predecessors,  and 
Mr.  Hardy  was  delighted  by  the  sound  of  a  dull,  heavy 
noise,  like  distant  thunder,  and  knew  that  the  success 
'was  complete,  and  that  he  had  stampeded  the  cattle. 

He  now  ran  to  his  horse,  which  was  trembling  in 
every  limb  and  struggling  wildly  to  escape,  soothed  it  by 
patting  it,  loosed  its  bonds,  sprang  into  the  saddle,  and 
went  off  at  full  gallop  in  the  direction  by  which  he  had 
come.  He  had  riot  ridden  very  far  before  he  heard,  in 
the  still  night  air,  the  repeated  sound  of  firearms,  and 
knew  that  the  boys  were  upon  the  trail  of  the  cattle. 
Mr.  Hardy  had  little  fear  of  the  Indians  pursuing  them; 
he  felt  sure  that  the  slaughter  of  the  day  by  the  new  and 
mysterious  firearms,  together  with  the  effect  of  the 
rockets,  would  have  too  much  terrified  and  cowed  them 
for  them  to  think  of  anything  but  flight.  He  was,  how- 
ever, much  alarmed  when,  after  a  quarter  of  a  hour's 
riding,  he  heard  a  single  sharp  whistle  at  about  a  few 
hundred  yards'  distance. 

"Hurrah!  papa,"  the  boys  said  as  he  rode  up  to  them. 
"They  have  gone  by  at  a  tremendous  rush—sheep  and 
cattle  and  all.  We  started  the  moment  we  saw  your 
first  rocket,  and  got  up  just  as  they  rushed  past,  and  we 
joined  in  behind  and  fired,  and  yelled  till  we  were  hoarse. 
I  don't  think  they  will  stop  again  to-night." 

"Did  you  see  or  hear  anything  of  the  Indians,  boys?" 

"Nothing,  papa.  When  the  first  rocket  burst  we  saw 
several  dark  figures  leap  up  from  the  grass — where  they 
had  been,  no  doubt,  scouting — and  run  toward  the  camp 
but  that  was  all.  What  are  we  to  do  now?4' 

"Ride  on  straight  for  home.  We  need  not  trouble 
about  the  animals;  they  won't  stop  till  they  are  back. 
We  must  go  easily,  for  our  horses  have  done  a  very  long 
day's  work  already.  They  have  been  between  fifty  and 
sixty  miles.  I  think  that  we  had  better  ride  on  for 


14B  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

another  hour.  By  that  time  the  moon  will  be  up,  and 
we  shall  be  able  to  see  for  miles  across  the  plain.  Then 
we  will  halt  till  daybreak — it  will  only  be  three  hours — 
and  the  horses  will  be  able  to  carry  us  in  at  a  canter 
afterward." 

And  so  it  was  done.  In  an  hour  the  moon  was  fairly 
up,  and,  choosing  a  rise  whence  a  clear  view  could  be 
obtained,  the  horses  were  allowed  to  feed,  and  Mr.  Hardy 
and  Hubert  lay  down  to  sleep,  Charley  taking  the  post 
of  sentry,  with  orders  to  wake  the  others  at  daybreak. 

The  day  was  just  dawning  when  he  aroused  them. 
"Wake  up,  papa.  There  are  some  figures  coming  over 
the  plain." 

Mr.  Hardy  and  Hubert  were  on  their  feet  in  an 
instant.  "Where,  Charley?" 

"From  the  north,  papa.  They  must  have  passed  us  in 
their  pursuit  of  the  cattle,  and  are  now  returning— 
empty-handed,  anyhow;  for  there  are  only  seven  or  eight 
of  them,  and  they  are  driving  nothing  before  them." 

By  this  time  all  three  were  in  the  saddle  again. 

"Shall  we  attack  them,  papa?" 

"No,  boys;  we  have  given  them  quite  a  severe  lesson 
enough.  At  the  same  time,  we  wttl  move  a  little  across, 
so  that  we  can  get  a  good  sight  of  them  as  they  pass,  and 
make  sure  that  they  have  got  nothing  with  them." 

"They  are  coming  exactly  this  way,  papa." 

"Yes,  I  see,  Hubert;  they  are  no  doubt  riding  back 
upon  their  trail.  They  will  turn  off  quickly  enough 
when  they  see  us." 

But  the  newcomers  did  not  do  so,  continuing  straight 
forward. 

"Get  your  carbines  ready,  boys;  but  don't  fire  till  I 
tell  you.  They  must  belong  to  some  other  party,  and 
cannot  know  what  has  happened.  No  doubt  they  take 
us  for  Indians." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  149 

"I  don't  think  they  are  Indians  at  all/'  Hubert  said, 
as  the  figures  rapidly  approached. 

"Don't  you,  Hubert?    We  shall  soon  see.     Halloo!" 

"Halloo!  hurrah!"  came  back  to  them;  and  in  another 
five  minutes  they  were  shaking  hands  heartily  with  their 
three  friends  from  Canterbury,  the  Jamiesons,  and  two 
or  three  other  neighboring  settlers. 

They  told  them  that  Farquhar,  as  soon  as  Lopez 
brought  news  of  the  attack,  had  sent  mounted  men  off 
to  all  the  other  settlements,  begging  them  to  meet  that 
night  at  Mount  Pleasant.  By  nine  o'clock  they  had 
assembled,  and,  after  a  consultation,  had  agreed  that  the 
Indians  would  be  satisfied  with  their  present  booty,  and 
that  therefore  no  guard  would  be  necessary  at  their  own 
estancias. 

A  good  feed  and  four  hours'  rest  had  been  given  to 
their  horses,  and  when  the  moon  rose  they  had  started. 
Two  hours  after  leaving  they  had  seen  a  dark  mass  ap- 
proaching, and  had  prepared  for  an  encounter;  but  it 
had  turned  out  to  be  the  animals,  who  were  going  toward 
home  at  a  steady  pace.  There  seemed,  they  said,  to  be 
a  good  many  horses  among  them. 

Assured  by  this  that  some  encounter  or  other  had 
taken  place  with  the  Indians,  they  had  ridden  on  with 
much  anxiety,  and  were  greatly  relieved  at  finding  Mr. 
Hardy  and  his  boys  safe. 

The  whole  party  now  proceeded  at  a  rapid  pace  toward 
home,  which  they  reached  in  four  hours'  riding.  As 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  watch-tower  Mr.  Herries 
separated  himself  from  the  others,  and  rode  thirty  or 
forty  yards  away  to  the  left,  returning  to  the  others. 
This  he  repeated  three  times,  greatly  to  Mr.  Hardy's 
surprise. 

"What  are  you  doing,  Herries?"  he  asked. 

"I  am  letting  them  know  you  are  all  well.    We  agreed 


L 


150  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

upon  that  signal  before  we  started.  They  would  be  able 
to  notice  one  separate  himself  from  the  rest  in  that  way 
as  far  as  they  could  see  us,  and  long  before  they  could 
make  out  any  other  sort  of  signal." 

In  a  short  time  three  black  spots  could  be  seen  upon 
the  plain  in  the  distance.  These  the  boys  very  shortly 
pronounced  to  be  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls. 

When  they  approached  the  rest  of  the  party  fell  back, 
to  allow  Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons  to  ride  forward  and  have 
the  pleasure  of  the  first  meeting  to  themselves.  Need- 
less is  it  to  tell  with  what  a  feeling  of  delight  and  thank- 
fulness Mrs.  Hardy,  Maud,  and  Ethel  received  them. 
After  the  first  congratulations  the  girls  observed  that 
Mr.  Hardy  had  his  arm  bound  up  with  a  handkerchief. 

"Are  you  hurt,  papa?"  they  exclaimed  anxiously. 

"Nothing  to  speak  of — only  an  arrow  in  my  arm.  Old 
Hubert  has  got  the  worst  of  it:  he  has  had  one  through 
the  calf  of  his  leg." 

"Poor  old  Hubert!"  they  cried.  And  Hubert  had 
some  difficulty  in  persuading  the  girls  that  he  could  wait 
on  very  fairly  till  he  reached  home  without  his  being 
bandaged  or  otherwise  touched. 

"And  how  did  it  all  happen?"  Mrs.  Hardy  asked. 

"I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  when  we  have  had  break- 
fast, my  dear,"  her  husband  said.  "I  have  told  our 
friends  nothing  about  it  yet,  for  it  is  a  long  story,  and 
one  telling  will  do  for  it.  I  suppose  the  animals  have 
got  back?  How  many  are  missing?" 

"Lopez  came  in  from  counting  them  just  as  we 
started,"  Mrs.  Hardy  said.  "He  says  there  are  only  four 
or  five  cattle  missing,  and  about  a  couple  of  hundred 
sheep;  and,  do  you  know,  in  addition  to  our  own  horses, 
there  are  a  hundred  and  twenty-three  Indian  horses?" 

"Hurrah!"  the  boys  shouted  delightedly.  "That  is  a 
triumph;  isn't  it,  papa?" 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  151 

"It  is  indeed,  boys;  and  explains  readily  enough  how 
it  was  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  attempt  at  pur- 
suit. The  Indian  horses  evidently  broke  their  lariats 
and  joined  in  the  stampede.  I  suppose  Lopez  has  driven 
them  all  into  the  inclosure?" 

"Oh,  yes,  papa.  They  went  in  by  themselves  with  our 
own  animals,  and  Terence  shut  the  gate  at  once." 

In  another  quarter  of  an  hour  they  reached  the  house, 
received  by  Sarah  and  Terence — the  latter  being  almost 
beside  himself  with  joy  at  his  master's  safe  return,  and 
with  vexation  when  he  heard  that  there  had  been  a  fight, 
and  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  take  part  in  it. 

Orders  had  been  given  to  Sarah  to  prepare  breakfast 
the  instant  the  returning  party  had  been  seen,  and  their 
signal  of  "all  safe"  been  made  out.  It  was  now  ready; 
but  before  sitting  down  to  it  Mr.  Hardy  begged  all  pres- 
ent to  join  in  a  short  thanksgiving  to  God  for  their 
preservation  from  extreme  peril. 

All  knelt,  and  as  they  followed  Mr.  Hardy's  words, 
they  were  sure,  from  the  emotion  with  which  he  spoke, 
that  the  peril,  of  the  particulars  of  which  they  were  at 
present  ignorant,  had  been  indeed  a  most  imminent  one. 

This  duty  performed,,  all  fell  to  with  great  heartiness 
to  breakfast;  and  when  that  was  over  Mr.  Hardy  related 
the  whole  story.  Very  greatly  were  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the 
girls  amazed  at  the  thoughts  of  the  great  peril  through 
which  their  father  and  the  boys  had  passed,  and  at  the 
account  of  the  defense  by  the  boys  when  their  father  was 
lying  insensible.  Mrs.  Hardy  could  not  restrain  herself 
from  sobbing  in  her  husband's  arms  at  the  thought  of 
his  fearful  danger,  while  the  girls  cried  sore  and  kissed 
their  brothers,  and  all  their  friends  crowded  round  them 
and  wrung  their  hands  warmly;  while  Terence  sought 
relief  by  going  out  into  the  garden,  dancing  a  sort  of 
jig,  and  giving  vent  to  a  series  of  wild  war-whoops. 


152  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

It  was  some  time  before  all  were  sufficiently  calm  to 
listen  to  the  remainder  of  the  story,  which  was  received 
with  renewed  congratulations. 

When  it  was  all  over  a  council  was  held,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  there  was  no  chance  whatever  of  the  Indians 
returning  to  renew  the  contest,  as  they  would  be  helpless 
on  foot;  but  that  if  by  a  spy  they  found  out  that  their 
horses  were  there,  they  might  endeavor  to  recover  them. 
It  was  therefore  agreed  that  they  should  be  driven 
over  at  once  to  Mr.  Percy's,  there  to  remain  until  a  pur- 
chaser was  obtained  for  them.  In  the  afternoon  the 
party  dispersed,  with  many  thanks  from  the  Hardys  for 
their  prompt  assistance* 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  153 


CHAPTER  XL 

QUIET  TIMES. 

"AFTER  a  storm  comes  a  calm :"  a  saying  true  in  the 
case  of  the  Hardys,  as  in  that  of  most  others.  All  their 
neighbors  agreed  that  after  the  very  severe  loss  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  capture  of  the  whole  of  their  horses, 
there  was  no  chance  whatever  of  another  attack,  at  any 
rate  for  many  months.  After  that  it  was  possible,  and 
indeed  probable,  that  they  would  endeavor  to  take  venge- 
ance for  their  disastrous  defeat;  but  that  at  present 
they  would  be  too  crippled  and  disheartened  to  think 
of  it. 

The  settlers  were  now,  therefore,  able  to  give  their 
whole  attention  to  the  farm.  The  first  operation  was 
the  sheep-shearing.  Four  men  had  been  hired  to  do  the 
shearing  at  Canterbury,  and  then  to  come  over  to  Mount 
Pleasant.  Charley  rode  over  to  their  neighbors'  with 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  his  sisters,  Mr.  Hardy  and  Hubert 
remaining  at  home — the  latter  laid  up  with  the  wound  in 
his  leg. 

It  was  an  amusing  sight  to  see  three  or  four  hundred 
sheep  driven  into  an  inclosure,  and  then  dragged  out  by 
the  shearers.  These  men  were  paid  according  to  the 
number  shorn,  and  were  very  expert,  a  good  hand  get- 
ting through  a  hundred  a  day.  They  were  rather  rough, 
though,  in  their  work,  and  the  girls  soon  went  away  from 
the  shearing-place  with  a  feeling  of  pity  and  disgust,  for 
the  shearers  often  cut  the  sheep  badly.  Each  man  had  a 


154  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

pot  of  tar  by  his  side,  with  which  he  smeared  over  any 
wound.  A  certain  sum  was  stopped  from  their  pay  for 
each  sheep  upon  which  they  made  a  cut  of  over  a  certain 
length;  but  although  this  made  them  careful  to  a  certain 
extent,  they  still  wounded  a  great  many  of  the  poor 
creatures. 

A  much  more  exciting  amusement  was  seeing  the 
branding  of  the  cattle,  which  took  place  after  the 
shearing  was  over.  The  animals  were  let  out,  one  by 
one,  from  their  inclosure,  and,  as  they  passed  along  a 
sort  of  lane  formed  of  hurdles,  they  were  lassoed  and 
thrown  on  to  the  ground.  The  hot  branding-iron  was 
then  clapped  against  their  shoulder,  and  was  received  by 
a  roar  of  rage  and  pain.  The  lasso  was  then  loosened, 
and  the  animal  went  off  at  a  gallop  to  join  his  companions 
on  the  plain.  Some  caution  was  required  in  this  process, 
for  sometimes  the  animals,  upon  being  released,  would 
charge  their  tormenters,  who  then  had  to  make  a  hasty 
leap  over  the  hurdles;  Terence,  who  stood  behind  them, 
being  in  readiness  to  thrust  a  goad  against  the  animals' 
rear,  and  this  always  had  ^the  effect  of  turning  them. 
For  a  few  days  after  this  the  cattle  were  rather  wild,  but 
they  soon  forgot  their  fright  and  pain,  and  returned  to 
their  usual  ways. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  by  this  time  been  long  enough  in  the 
country  to  feel  sure  of  his  position.  He  therefore  deter- 
mined to  embark  the  rest  of  his  capital  in  agricultural 
operations.  He  engaged  ten  native  peons,  and  set-to  to 
extend  the  land  under  tillage.  The  watercourses  from 
the  dam  were  deepened  and  lengthened,  and  side  chan- 
nels cut,  so  that  the  work  of  irrigation  could  be  effec- 
tually carried  on  over  the  whole  of  the  low-lying  land, 
the  water  being  sufficient  for  the  purpose  for  nearly  tea 
months  in  the  year.  Four  plows  were  kept  steadily  at 
work,  and  the  ground  was  sown  with  alfalfa  or  lucera 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  155 

as  fast  as  it  was  got  into  condition.  Patches  of  Indian 
corn,  pumpkins,  and  other  vegetables  were  also  planted. 
Mr.  Hardy  resolved  that  until  the  country  beyond  him 
became  so  settled  that  there  could  be  little  danger  from 
Indian  incursions,  he  would  not  increase  his  stock  of 
sheep  and  cattle,  but  would  each  year  sell  off  the 
increase. 

He  also  decided  upon  entering  extensively  upon  dairy 
operations.  He  had  already  ascertained  that  a  ready 
sale  could  be  obtained,  among  the  European  residents  of 
Eosario  and  Buenos  Ayres,  of  any  amount  of  butter  and 
fresh  cheese  that  he  could  produce,  and  that  European 
prices  would  be  readily  given  for  them.  Up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  the  butter  made  had  been  obtained  from  the 
milk  of  two  cows  only,  but  he  now  determined  to  try  the 
experiment  upon  a  large  scale. 

A  dairy  was  first  to  be  made.  This  was  partially  cut 
out  of  the  side  of  the  slope,  and  lined  with  sun-baked 
bricks.  Against  the  walls,  which  projected  above  the 
ground,  earth  was  piled,  to  make  them  of  a  very  consid- 
erable thickness.  Strong  beams  were  placed  across  the 
roof;  over  these  rafters  was  nailed  felt,  whitewashed  upon 
both  sides  to  keep  out  insects.  Upon  this  was  placed  a 
considerable  thickness  of  rushes,  and,  over  all,  puddled 
clay  was  spread  a  foot  deep.  Ventilation  was  given  by  a 
wide  chimney  rising  behind  it,  and  light  entered  by  two- 
windows  in  front.  The  whole  of  the  interior  was  white- 
washed. 

In  this  way  a  dairy  was  obtained  which,  from  the 
thickness  of  its  walls,  was  cool  enough  for  the  purpose 
during  the  hottest  weather.  Preparations  were  now 
made  for  breaking  in  the  cows  to  be  milked.  A  sort  of 
lane  was  made  of  two  strong  fences  of  iron  wire.  This 
lane  was  of  the  shape  of  a  funnel,  narrowing  at  one  end 
to  little  more  than  the  width  of  a  cow.  At  the  end  of 


158  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS, 

this  was  a  gate,  and  attached  to  the  gate  a  light  trough^ 
filled  with  fresh  alfalfa. 

Half  a  dozen  cows  which  had  recently  calved  were  now 
separated  from  the  herd,  and  driven  into  the  wide  end  of 
the  inclosure.  One  by  one  they  approached  the  narrow 
end,  and  when  one  had  reached  the  extremity,  and  had 
begun  to  devour  the  alfalfa,  of  which  they  are  very  fond, 
a  bar  was  let  down  behind  her,  so  that  she  could  now 
neither  advance,  retreat,  nor  turn  round. 

One  of  the  boys  now  began  cautiously  and  quietly  to 
milk  her,  and  the  cows  in  few  cases  offered  any  resist- 
ance. One  or  two  animals  were,  however,  very  obstrep- 
erous, but  were  speedily  subdued  by  having  their  legs 
firmly  fastened  to  the  posts  behind.  In  a  few  days  all 
were  reconciled  to  the  process,  and  ere  long  would  come 
in  night  and  morning  to  be  milked,  with  as  much  regu- 
larity as  English  cows  would  have  done. 

The  wives  of  the  peons  were  now  taught  to  milk;  and 
#iore  and  more  cows  were  gradually  added  to  the  num- 
ber, until  in  six  months  there  were  fifty  cows  in  full 
milk.  Maud  and  Ethel  had  now  no  longer  anything  to 
do  with  the  house,  Mrs.  Hardy  undertaking  the  entire 
management  of  that  department,  while  the  girls  had 
charge  of  the  fowl-house  and  dairy. 

The  milk  was  made  partly  into  butter,  partly  into  fresh 
cheese.  These  were  sent  off  once  a  week  to  catch  the 
steamer  for  Buenos  Ayres.  Mr.  Hardy  had  a  light  cart 
made  for  one  horse,  and  by  this  conveyance  the  butter- 
starting  as  soon  as  the  sun  went  down — arrived  in 
Rosario  in  time  for  the  early  boat  to  the  capital.  It  was 
sent  in  large  baskets  made  of  rushes,  and  packed  in 
many  layers  of  cool,  fresh  leaves;  so  that  it  arrived  at 
Buenos  Ayres,  forty  hours  after  leaving  Mount  Pleasant, 
perfectly  fresh  and  good.  The  skim  milk  was  given  to 
the  pigs,  who  had  already  increased  to  quite  a  numerous 
colony. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Although  they  had  been  planted  less  than  a  year,  the 
fruit  trees  round  the  house  had  thriven  in  a  surprising 
manner,  and  already  bore  a  crop  of  fruit  more  than  suffi- 
cient for  the  utmost  wants  of  the  household.  Peaches 
and  nectarines,  apricots  and  plums,  appeared  at  every 
mean  either  fresh,  stewed,  or  in  puddings,  and  afforded 
a  very  pleasant  change  and  addition  to  their  diet.  As 
Maud  said  one  day,  they  would  have  been  perfectly 
happy  had  it  not  been  for  the  frogs. 

These  animals  were  a  very  great  nuisance.  They  liter- 
ally swarmed-  Do  what  they  would,  the  Hardys  could 
not  get  rid  of  them.  If  they  would  but  have  kept  out  of 
the  house,  no  one  would  have  minded  them;  indeed,  as 
they  destroyed  a  good  many  insects,  they  would  have 
been  welcome  visitors  in  the  garden;  but  this  was  just 
what  they  would  not  do.  The  door  always  stood  open, 
and  they  evidently  considered  that  as  an  invitation  to 
walk  in.  There  they  would  hide  behind  boxes,  or  get 
under  beds,  and  into  water-jugs  and  baths,  and,  in  fact, 
into  every  possible  corner.  They  would  even  get  into 
boots;  and  these  had  always  to  be  shaken  before  being 
put  on,  in  case  frogs  or  insects  should  have  taken  up 
their  abode  there. 

It  used  at  first  to  be  quite  a  matter  of  difficulty  to 
know  what  to  do  with  the  frogs  after  they  were  caught; 
but  after  a  time  a  covered  basket  was  kept  outside  the 
door,  and  into  this  the  frogs  were  popped,  and  taken 
once  a  day  and  emptied  into  the  stream.  At  first  they 
had  got  into  the  well,  and  had  proved  a  great  nuisance; 
and  they  were  only  got  rid  of  by  nearly  emptying  the 
well  out  with  buckets,  and  by  then  building  a  wall  round 
its  mouth,  with  a  tightly-fitting  lid. 

Insects  of  all  kinds  were  indeed  a  great  pest,  scorpions 
being  by  no  means  uncommon,while  large  centipedes  occa- 
sionally intruded  into  the  house.  These  creatures  were 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

a  great  trouble  to  the  girls  in  their  dairy,  for  the  froga 
and  toads  would  climb  up  the  walls,  and  fall  squash  into 
the  milk-pans.  The  only  way  that  they  could  be  at  all 
kept  out  was  by  having  the  door  sawn  asunder  three  feet 
from  the  ground,  so  that  the  lower  half  could  be  shub 
while  the  girls  were  engaged  inside.  However,  in  spite 
of  the  utmost  pains,  the  little  ones  would  crawl  in 
through  crevices,  or  leap  in  at  the  window;  and  at  last 
the  girls  had  to  get  wicker-work  covers  made  for  all  the 
pans;  and  as  the  natives  are  very  skillful  at  this  work, 
they  were  thus  enabled  to  keep  the  milk  clean.  Almost 
as  great  a  trouble  as  the  frogs  were  the  brocachas,  who 
committed  terrible  havoc  in  the  garden  and  among  the 
crops.  They  are  about  the  size,  and  have  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  hares,  and  burrow  in  immense  quantities 
in  the  pampas.  The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  them  was  by 
puffing  the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur  down  into  their 
holes;  and  it  was  quite  a  part  of  the  boys'  regular  work 
to  go  out  with  the  machine  for  the  purpose,  and  to  suffo- 
cate these  troublesome  creatures.  Their  holes,  however, 
are  not  so  dangerous  to  horsemen  as  are  those  of  the 
armadillos,  as  the  ground  is  always  bare  in  their  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  armadillos  are  of  three  or  foujr  species,  all  of  them 
small.  The  peludo  is  about  a  foot  in  length,  and  has 
hair  sticking  out  between  his  scales.  The  muletas  are 
smaller.  Both  are  excellent  eating;  but  the  girls  were 
some  time  before  they  could  bring  themselves  to  touch 
them.  The  matajo,  in  addition  to  the  protection  of  his 
scales,  is  able  to  roll  himself  into  a  ball  at  the  approach 
of  danger,  and,  clothed  in  his  impervious  armor,  is  proof 
against  any  attacks  except  those  of  man.  These  animals 
are  so  common  that  the  plain  is  in  many  cases  quite 
honeycombed  with  them. 

The  girls  had  a  great  scare  the  first  time  they  came 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  159 

an  iguana,  thinking  that  it  was  a  crocodile. 
These  great  lizards  are  about  five  feet  long,  and  are 
ferocious-looking,  but  very  harmless  unless  attacked. 
Then  they  will  defend  themselves,  and  can  inflict  a 
sharp  blow  with  their  tails,  or  a  severe  bite  with  their 
teeth.  They  are  very  common,  and  the  Indians  eat 
them,  and  say  that  the  meat  is  excellent;  but  the  young 
Hardys  could  never  be  persuaded  to  taste  it.  Thus  mat- 
ters proceeded  for  some  time  without  any  noteworthy 
incident.  Their-  circle  of  acquaintances  grew  little  by 
little.  Several  neighboring  plots  had  been  taken  up; 
and  although  the  new  settlers  had  little  time  for  making 
visits,  still  the  very  fact  of  their  presence  near  gave  a 
feeling  of  companionship  and  security.  Very  frequently 
young  men  would  arrive  with  letters  of  introduction,  and 
would  stay  a  few  days  with  them  while  they  inspected 
the  country. 

Their  household,  too,  had  received  an  increase.  A 
young  Englishman  named  Fitzgerald,  the  son  of  some 
very  old  friend  of  the  Hardys,  had  written  expressing  a 
very  strong  desire  to  come  out,  and  asking  their  advice 
in  the  matter.  Several  letters  had  been  exchanged,  and 
at  length,  at  Mr.  Fitzgerald's  earnest  request,  Mr. 
Hardy  agreed  to  receive  his  son  for  a  year,  to  learn  the 
business  of  a  pampas  farmer,  before  he  embarked  upon 
his  own  account.  A  small  room  was  accordingly  cleared 
out  for  him,  and  Mr.  Hardy  never  had  any  reason  to 
regret  having  received  him.  He  was  a  pleasant,  light- 
hearted  young  fellow  of  about  twenty  years  of  age. 

One  change,  however,  had  taken  place  which  deserves 
mention.  Sarah  one  day  came  to  her  mistress,  and  with 
much  blushing  and  hesitation  said  that  Terence  Kelly 
had  asked  her  to  marry  him. 

Mrs.  Hardy  had  long  suspected  that  an  attachment 
had  sprung  up  between  the  Irishman  and  her  servant,  so 


160  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

she  only  smiled  and  said,  "Well,  Sarah,  and  what  did 
you  say  to  Terence?  The  year  you  agreed  to  stop  with  us 
is  over,  so  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  as  you  like,  you 
know." 

"Oh,  ma'am,  but  I  don't  want  to  leave  you.  That  is 
just  what  I  told  Terence.  'If  master  and  mistress  are 
willing  that  I  shall  marry  you  and  stay  on  with  them  as 
before,  I  won't  say  no,  Terence;  but  if  they  say  that 
they  would  not  take  a  married  servant,  then  Terence, 
we  must  stay  as  we  are.'  ' 

"I  have  no  objection  at  all,  Sarah,  and  I  think  I  can 
answer  for  Mr.  Hardy  having  none.  Terence  is  a  very 
good,  steady  fellow,  and  I  know  that  Mr.  Hardy  has  a 
high  opinion  of  him;  so  you  could  not  make  a  marriage 
which  would  please  us  more.  We  should  be  very  sorry 
to  lose  you,  but  we  could  not  in  any  case  have  opposed 
you  marrying  whom  you  liked,  and  now  we  shall  have 
the  satisfaction  of  keeping  you  here  with  us." 

And  so  it  was  settled,  and  a  fortnight  afterward 
Terence  and  Sarah  had  two  days'  holiday,  and  went 
down  to  Buenos  Ayres,  where  there  was  an  English 
church,  and  came  back  again  man  and  wife.  After  that 
each  went  back  to  work  as  usual,  and  the  only  change 
was,  that  Terence  now  took  his  meals  and  lived  in  the 
house  instead  of  down  in  the  men's  huts.  By  this  time 
they  had  begun  to  find  out  which  of  the  crops  peculiar 
to  warm  countries  would  pay,  and  which  would  not,  or 
rather — for  they  all  paid  more  or  less — which  was  the 
most  suitable. 

The  cotton  crop  had  proved  a  success;  the  field  had  in 
time  been  covered  with  cotton  plants,  which  had  burst 
first  into  a  bright  yellow  blossom,  and  had  then  been 
covered  with  many  balls  of  white  fluff.  The  picking  the 
cotton  had  been  looked  upon  at  first  as  great  fun,  al- 
though it  had  proved  hard  work  before  it  was  finished. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  161 

Its  weight  had  rather  exceeded  Mr.  Hardy's  anticipation. 
The  process  of  cleaning  the  cotton  from  the  pods  and 
seeds  had  proved  a  long  and  troublesome  operation,  and 
had  taken  an  immense  time.  Judging  by  the  progress 
that  they  at  first  made  with  it,  they  really  began  to 
despair  of  ever  finishing  it,  but  with  practice  they  be- 
came more  adroit.  Still  it  was  found  to  be  too  great  a 
labor  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  although  carried  on 
within  doors.  It  had  been  a  dirty  work  too;  the  light  par- 
ticles of  fluff  had  got  everywhere,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
couple  of  hours'  work  the  party  had  looked  like  a  family 
of  bakers.  Indeed,  before  more  than  a  quarter  of  the 
quantity  raised  was  cleaned  they  were  heartily  sick  of 
the  job,  and  the  remainder  was  sold  in  the  pod  to  an 
Englishman  who  had  brought  out  machinery,  and  was 
attempting  to  raise  cotton  near  Buenos  Ayres.  Although 
the  profits  had  been  considerable,  it  was  unanimously  de- 
termined that  the  experiment  should  not  be  repeated,  at 
eny  rate  for  the  present. 

Mr.  Hardy  had  not  at  first  carried  out  his  idea  of  plant- 
ing a  couple  of  acres  with  tobacco  and  sngar-cane,  the 
ground  having  been  required  for  other  purposes.  He 
liad  not,  however  abandoned  the  idea;  and  about  two 
months  before  the  marriage  of  Terence  and  Sarah  he 
had  planted  some  tobacco,  which  was,  upon  their  return 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  ready  to  be  picked. 

The  culture  of  tobacco  requires  considerable  care.  The 
ground  is  first  prepared  with  great  care,  and  is  well  and 
thoroughly  manured;  but  this  was  not  required  in  the 
persent  case,  as  the  rich  virgin  soil  needed  no  artificial 
aid.  It  is  then  dug  in  beds  something  like  asparagus 
beds,  about  two  feet  wide,  with  a  deep  trench  between 
each.  The  seeds  are  raised  in  a  seed-bed,  and  when  nine 
or  ten  inches  high  they  are  taken  up  and  carefully 
transplanted  into  the  beds,  two  rows  being  placed  in 
each,  and  the  plants  being  a  foot  apart. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

There  are  various  methods  of  cultivation,  but  this  was 
the  one  adopted  by  Mr.  Hardy.  The  plants  grew  rapidly, 
the  ground  between  them  being  occasionally  hoed,  and 
kept  free  from  weeds.  When  they  were  four  feet  high 
the  tops  were  nipped  off,  and  any  leaves  which  showed 
signs  of  disease  were  removed.  Each  stem  had  from 
eight  to  ten  leaves.  When  the  leaves  began  to  turn 
rather  yellow,  Mr.  Hardy  announced  that  the  time  for 
cutting  had  arrived,  and  one  morning  all  hands  were 
mustered  to  the  work.  It  consisted  merely  in  cutting 
the  stems  at  a  level  with  the  earth,  and  laying  the  plants 
down  gently  upon  the  ground.  By  breakfast-time  the 
two  acres  were  cleared.  They  were  left  all  day  to  dry  in 
the  sun,  and  a  little  before  sunset  they  were  taken  up, 
and  carried  up  to  one  of  the  store-sheds,  which  had  been 
cleared  and  prepared  for  the  purpose.  Here  they  were 
placed  in  a  heap  on  the  ground,  covered  over  with  raw 
hides  and  mats,  and  left  for  three  days  to  heat.  After 
this  they  were  uncovered,  and  hung  up  on  laths  from  the 
roof,  close  to  each  other,  and  yet  sufficiently  far  apart  to 
allow  the  air  to  circulate  between  them.  Here  they  re- 
mained until  they  were  quite  dry,  and  were  then  taken 
down,  a  damp  covering  being  chosen  for  the  operation,  as 
otherwise  the  dry  leaves  would  have  crumbled  to  dust. 
They  were  again  laid  in  a  heap,  and  covered  up  to  allow 
them  to  heat  once  more.  This  second  heating  required 
some  days  to  accomplish,  and  this  operation  required 
great  attention,  as  the  tobacco  would  have  been  worth- 
less if  the  plants  had  heated  too  much. 

In  ten  days  the  operation  was  complete.  The  leaves 
were  then  stripped  off,  the  upper  leaves  were  placed  by 
themselves,  as  also  the  middle  and  the  lower  leaves;  the 
higher  ones  being  of  the  finest  quality.  They  were  then 
tied  in  bundles  of  twelve  leaves  each,  and  were  packed 
in  layers  in  barrels,  a  great  pressure  being  applied  with  a 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  163 

-weighted  lever,  to  press  them  down  into  an  almost  solid 
mass.  In  all  they  filled  three  barrels,  the  smallest  of 
which,  containing  sixty  pounds  of  the  finest  tobacco, 
Mr.  Hardy  kept  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  his  friends; 
the  rest  he  sold  at  Buenos  Ayres  at  a  profitable  rate. 
The  venture,  like  that  of  the  cotton,  had  proved  a  suc- 
cess, but  the  trouble  and  care  required  had  been  very 
great,  and  Mr.  Hardy  determined  in  future  to  plant  only 
sufficient  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  the  men  employed 
u£on  the  estate. 

The  next  experiment  which  was  perfected  was  that 
with  the  sugar-cane.  In  this,  far  more  than  in  the 
others,  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  took  a  lively  interest. 
Sugar  had  been  one  of  the  few  articles  of  consumption 
which  had  cost  money,  and  it  had  been  used  in  consider- 
able quantities  for  converting  the  fruit  into  fine  pud- 
dings and  preserves.  It  was  not  contemplated  to  make 
sugar  for  sale,  but  only  for  the  supply  of  the  house:  two 
acres,  therefore,  was  the  extent  of  the  plantation.  Mr. 
Hardy  procured  the  cuttings  from  a  friend  who  had  a 
small  sugar  plantation  near  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  cultivation  Qf  sugar  is  simple.  The  land  having 
been  got  in  perfect  order,  deep  furrows  were  plowed  at  a 
distance  of  five  feet  apart.  In  these  the  cuttings,  which 
are  pieces  of  the  upper  part  of  the  cane,  containing  two 
or  three  knots,  were  laid  at  a  distance  of  three  feet 
apart.  The  plow  was  then  taken  along  by  the  side  of  the 
furrow,  so  as  to  fill  it  up  again  and  cover  the  cuttings. 
In  sugar  plantations  the  rows  of  canes  are  close  together, 
but  Mr.  Hardy  had  chosen  this  distance,  as  it  enabled 
his  horse-hoe  to  work  between  them,  and  thus  keep  the 
ground  turned  up  and  free  from  weeds,  without  the  ex- 
pense of  hard  labor.  In  a  short  time  the  shoots  appeared 
above  the  soil.  In  four  months  they  had  gained  the 
height  of  fourteen  feet,  and  their  glossy  stems  showed 
that  they  were  ready  to  cut. 


164  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  * 

"Now,  Clara,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "this  is  your  manu- 
facture, you  know,  and  we  are  only  to  work  under  your 
superintendence.  The  canes  are  ready  to  cut:  how  do 
you  intend  to  crush  the  juice  out?  because  that  is  really 
an  important  question." 

The  young  Hardys  looked  aghast  at  each  other,  for  in 
the  pressure  of  other  matters  the  question  of  apparatus 
for  the  sugar  manufacture  had  been  quite  forgotten. 

"Have  you  really  no  idea  how  to  do  it,  Frank?" 

"No,  really  I  have  not,  my  dear.  We  have  certainly 
no  wood  on  the  place  which  would  make  the  rollers;  be- 
sides, it  would  be  rather  a  difficult  business." 

Mrs.  Hardy  thought  for  a  minute,  and  then  said,  "I 
should  think  that  the  mangle  would  do  it." 

There  was  a  general  exclamation  of  "Capital,  mamma!" 
and  then  a  burst  of  laughter  at  the  idea  of  making  sugar 
with  a  mangle.  The  mangle  in  question  was  part  of  a 
patent  washing  apparatus  which  Mr.  Hardy  had  brought 
with  him  from  England,  and  consisted  of  two  strong  iron 
rollers,  kept  together  by  strong  springs,  and  turning  with 
a  handle. 

"I  do  think  that  the  mangle  would  do,  Clara,"  Mr. 
Hardy  said,  "and  we  are  all  much  obliged  to  you  for  the 
idea.  I  had  thought  of  the  great  washing  copper  for 
boiling  the  sugar,  but  the  mangle  altogether  escaped  me. 
"We  will  begin  to-morrow.  Please  get  all  the  tubs 
scrubbed  out  and  scalded,  and  put  out  in  the  sun  to  dry." 

"How  long  will  it  take,  papa?" 

"Some  days,  Ethel;  we  must  only  cut  the  canes  as  fast 
as  the  boiler  can  boil  the  juice  down." 

The  next  day  the  work  began.  The  canes  were  cut  at 
a  level  with  the  ground,  the  tops  were  taken  off,  and  the 
canes  cut  into  lengths  of  three  feet.  They  were  then 
packed  on  a  bullock  cart  and  taken  up  to  the  house. 
They  were  next  passed  through  the  mangle,  which  sue- 


v  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  165 

ceeded  admirably,  the  juice  flowing  out  in  streams  into 
the  tub  placed  below  to  receive  it.  When  all  the  canes 
had  been  passed  through  the  mangle,  the  screws  were 
tightened  to  increase  the  pressure,  and  they  were  again 
passed  through;  by  which  time,  although  the  juice  was 
not  so  thoroughly  extracted  as  it  would  have  been  by  a 
more  powerful  machine,  the  quantity  that  remained  was 
nft  important.  As  the  tub  was  filled  the  contents  were 
taken  to  the  great  copper,  under  which  a  fire  was  then 
lighted.  The  crushing  of  the  canes  was  continued  until 
the  copper  was  nearly  full,  when  Mr.  Hardy  ordered  the 
cutting  of  the  canes  to  be  discontinued  for  the  day.  The 
fire  under  the  copper  was  fed  with  the  crushed  canes, 
which  burned  very  freely.  Mr.  Hardy  now  added  a 
small  quantity  of  lime  and  some  sheep's  blood,  which 
last  ingredient  caused  many  exclamations  of  horror  from 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  young  ones.  The  blood,  however, 
Mr.  Hardy  informed  them,  was  necessary  to  clarify  the 
sugar,  as  the  albumen  contained  in  the  blood  would  rise 
to  the  surface,  bringing  the  impurities  with  it.  The  fire 
was  continued  until  the  thermometer  showed  that  the 
syrup  was  within  a  few  degrees  of  boiling,  and  the  sur- 
face was  covered  with  a  thick,  dark-colored  scum.  The* 
fire  was  then  removed,  and  the  liquor  allowed  to  cool, 
the  family  now  going  about  other  work,  as  so  large  * 
quantity  of  liquor  would  not  be  really  cold  until  the  next 
day. 

The  following  morning  the  tap  at  the  bottom  of  the 
boiler  was  turned,  and  the  syrup  came  out  bright  and 
clear — about  the  color  of  sherry  wine.  The  scum  de- 
scended unbroken  on  the  surface  of  the  liquor;  and  when 
the  copper  was  nearly  empty  the  tap  was  closed,  and  the 
scum  and  what  little  liquor  remained  was  taken  out. 
The  bright  syrup  was  now  again  poured  into  the  boiler, 
the  fire  re-lighted,  and  the  syrup  was  kept  boiling,  to 


166  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

evaporate  the  water  and  condense  the  syrup  down  to  the 
point  at  which  it  would  crystallize.  It  required  many 
hours'  boiling  to  effect  this,  any  scum  which  rose  to  the 
surface  being  carefully  taken  off  with  a  skimmer.  At 
last  it  was  found  that  the  syrup  on  the  skimmer  began 
to  crystallize,  and  Mr.  Hardy  pronounced  it  to  be  fit  to 
draw  off  into  the  large  washing  tubs  to  crystallize.  A 
fresh  batch  of  canes  was  now  crushed,  and  so  the  process 
was  repeated  until  all  the  canes  were  cut.  It  took  a 
fortnight  altogether,  but  only  five  days  of  this  were 
actually  occupied  in  cutting  and  crushing  the  canes.  As 
the  sugar  crystallized  it  was  taken  out — a  dark,  pulpy- 
looking  mass,  at  which  the  young  Hardys  looked  very 
doubtfully — and  was  [placed  in  a  large  sugar  hogshead, 
which  had  been  procured  for  the  purpose.  In  the  bot- 
tom of  this  eight  large  holes  were  bored,  and  these  were 
stopped  up  with  pieces  of  plantain  stalk.  Through  the 
porous  substance  of  these  stalks  the  molasses  or  treacle 
slowly  drained  off.  As  the  wet  sugar  was  placed  in  the 
cask,  layers  of  slices  of  plantain  stems  were  laid  upon  it, 
as  the  spongy  substance  draws  the  dark  coloring  matter 
out  from  the  sugar.  The  plantain  grows  freely  in  South 
America,  and  Mr.  Hardy  had  planted  a  number  of  this 
graceful  tree  near  his  house;  but  these  had  not  been  ad- 
vanced enough  to  cut,  and  he  had  therefore  procured  a 
sufficient  quantity  from  a  friend  at  JRosario.  It  was 
three  months  before  the  drainage  of  the  molasses  quite 
ceased;  and  the  Hardys  were  greatly  pleased,  on  empty- 
ing the  hogshead  and  removing  the  plantain  stems,  to 
find  that  their  sugar  was  dry,  and  of  a  very  fairly  light 
color.  The  sugar-canes  did  not  require  planting  again,, 
as  they  will  grow  for  many  years  from  the  same  roots; 
and  although  the  canes  from  old  stools,  as  they  are 
called,  produce  less  sugar  than  those  of  the  first  year's 
planting,  the  juice  is  clearer,  and  requires  far  less  trouble 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  167 

to  prepare  and  refine.  Before  another  year  came  round 
the  boys  made  a  pair  of  wooden  rollers  of  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter.  These  were  covered  with  strips  of  hoop 
iron,  nailed  lengthways  upon  them  at  short  intervals 
from  each  other,  thereby  obtaining  a  better  grip  upon 
tlyv*  canes,  and  preventing  the  wood  from  being  bruised 
and  grooved.  These  rollers  were  worked  by  a  horse  mill, 
which  Mr.  Hardy  had  ordered  from  England.  It  was 
made  for  five  horses,  and  did  a  great  deal  of  useful, work, 
grinding  the  Indian  corn  into  fine  flour  for  home  con- 
sumption and  for  sale  to  neighboring  settlers,  and  into 
coarse  meal,  and  pulping  the  pumpkins  and  roots  for  the 
pigs  and  other  animals. 

Mr.  Hardy  also  tried  many  other  experiments,  as  the 
climate  is  suited  to  almost  every  kind  of  plant  and  vege- 
table. Among  them  was  the  cultivation  of  ginger,  of 
the  vanilla  bean,  of  flax,  hemp,  and  coffee.  In  all  of 
them  he  obtained  more  or  less  success;  but  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  labor,  and  the  necessity  of  devoting  more 
and  more  attention  to  the  increasing  flocks,  herds,  and 
irrigated  land,  prevented  him  from  carrying  them  out  on 
a  large  scale.  However,  they  served  the  purpose  for 
which  he  principally  undertook  them — of  giving  objects 
of  interest  and  amusement  to  his  children. 


168  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A    STEADY    HAND. 

IT  was  now  more  than  eighteen  months  since  the 
Hardys  had  been  fairly  established  at  Mount  Pleasant. 
A  stranger  who  had  passed  along  at  the  time  the  house 
was  first  finished  would  certainly  fail  to  recognize  it 
now.  Then  it  was  a  bare,  uninviting  structure,  looking, 
as  has  been  said,  like  a  small  dissenting  chapel  built  on 
the  top  of  a  gentle  rise,  without  tree  or  shelter  of  any 
kind.  Now  it  appeared  to  rise  from  a  mass  of  bright 
green  foliage,  so  rapidly  had  the  trees  grown,  especially 
the  bananas  and  other  tropical  shrubs  planted  upon  each 
side  of  the  house.  At  the  foot  of  the  slope  were  some 
sixty  or  seventy  acres  of  cultivated  ground,  while  to  the 
right  were  three  or  four  large  and  strong  wire  inclo- 
sures,  in  which  the  milch  cows,  the  cattle,  the  sheep, 
and  the  pigs  were  severally  driven  at  night. 

Everything  was  prospering  beyond  Mr.  Hardy's  most 
sanguine  expectations.  More  and  more  land  was  monthly 
being  broken  up  and  irrigated.  Large  profits  had  been 
realized  by  buying  lean  cattle  during  the  dry  season,  fat- 
tening them  upon  alfalfa,  and  sending  them  down  to 
Kosario  for  sale.  The  pigs  had  multiplied  astonishingly; 
and  the  profits  from  the  dairy  were  increasing  daily,  as 
more  cows  were  constantly  added.  The  produce  of 
Mount  Pleasant  was  so  valued  at  both  Rosario  and  Buenos 
Ayres  that  the  demand,  at  most  remunerative  prices,  far 
exceeded  the  supply.  J 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  169 

Additions  had  been  made  to  the  number  of  peons,  and 
the  farm  presented  quite  an  animated  appearance. 

The  two  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  Hardys  left 
England  had  effected  a  considerable  change  in  their  ap- 
pfeance.  Charley  was  now  eighteen—a  squarely-built, 
sturdy  young  fellow.  From  his  life  of  exposure  in  the 
open  air  he  looked  older  than  he  was.  He  had  a  strong 
idea  that  he  was  now  becoming  a  man;  and  Ethel  had 
one  day  detected  him  examining  his  cheeks  very  closely 
in  the  glass,  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs  of  whiskers. 
It  was  a  debated  question  in  his  own  mind  whether  a 
beard  would  or  would  not  be  becoming  to  him.  Hubert 
was  nearly  seventeen:  he  was  taller  and  slighter  than  his 
brother,  but  was  younger  both  in  appearance  and  man- 
ners. He  had  all  the  restlessness  of  a  boy,  and  lacked 
somewhat  of  Charley's  steady  perseverance. 

The  elder  brother  was  essentially  of  a  practical  dispo- 
sition. He  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
farm,  and  gave  his  whole  mind  to  it.  If  he  went  out 
shooting  he  did  so  to  get  game  for  the  table.  He  en- 
joyed the  sport,  and  entered  heartily  into  it,  but  he  did 
so  in  a  business  sort  of  way. 

Hubert  was  a  far  more  imaginative  boy.  He  stuck 
to  the  work  of  the  farm  as  conscientiously  as  his  brother 
did,  but  his  attention  was  by  no  means  of  the  same  con- 
centrated kind.  A  new  butterfly,  an  uncommon  insect, 
would  be  irresistible  to  him;  and  notunfrequently,  when 
he  went  out  with  his  gun  to  procure  some  game  which 
Mr.  Hardy  had  wanted  upon  the  arrival  of  some  unex- 
pected visitor,  he  would  come  back  in  a  high  state  of  tri- 
umph with  some  curious  little  bird,  which  he  had  shot 
after  a  long  chase,  the  requirements  of  the  household 
being  altogether  forgotten. 

Maud  was  fifteen.  Her  constant  out-of-door  exercise 
had  made  her  as  nimble  and  active  as  a  young  fawn.  She 


170  OUT  °&  THE  PAMPAS. 

loved  to  be  out  and  about;  and  her  two  hours  of  lessons 
•with  her  mamma  in  the  afternoon  were  a  grievous 
penance  to  her. 

Ethel  wanted  three  months  of  fourteen,  and  looked 
under  twelve.  She  was  quite  the  home-bird  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  liked  nothing  better  than  taking  her  work  and 
sitting  by  the  hour,  quietly  talking  to  her  mother. 

The  time  was  now  again  approaching  when  the  Indian 
forays  were  to  be  expected.  It  was  still  a  month  earlier 
than  the  attack  of  the  year  before,  and  Mr.  Hardy,  with 
the  increased  number  of  his  men,  had  not  the  least  fear 
of  any  successful  assault  upon  Mount  Pleasant;  but  he 
resolved,  when  the  time  came,  to  take  every  possible  pre- 
caution against  attacks  upon  the  animals.  He  ordered 
that  the  iron  gates  of  the  inclosures  should  be  padlocked 
at  night,  and  that  some  of  the  native  dogs  should  be 
chained  there  as  sentinels.  He  looked  forward  with  some 
little  anxiety  to  the  Indian  moon,  as  it  is  called,  because, 
when  he  had  ridden  out  with  Lopez  and  two  of  their  Can- 
terbury friends  to  the  scene  of  the  encounter  a  few  days 
after  it  had  taken  place,  they  found  that  the  Indians  had 
fled  so  precipitately  upon  the  loss  of  their  horses  that 
they  had  not  even  buried  the  bodies  of  their  friends,  and 
that,  short  as  the  time  had  been,  the  foxes  had  left 
nothing  but  a  few  bones  remaining  of  these.  From  the 
moccasins,  however,  and  from  other  relics  of  the  Indians 
strewn  about,  Lopez  had  pronounced  at  once  that  two 
tribes  had  been  engaged  in  the  fray:  the  one,  inhabitants 
of  the  pampas — a  people  which,  although  ready  to  mur- 
der any  solitary  whites,  seldom  attack  a  prepared  foe;  and 
the  other,  of  Indians  from  the  west,  of  a  far  more  war- 
like and  courageous  character.  The  former  tribe,  Lopez 
affirmed — and  the  natives  of  the^country  agreed  with  him 
— would  not  of  themselves  have  been  likely  to  attempt  a 
fresh  attack  upon  antagonists  who  had  proved  them- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  171 

selves  so  formidable,  but  the  latter  would  be  almost  cer- 
tain to  make  some  desperate  attempt  to  wipe  off  the  dis- 
grace of  their  defeat.  Under  these  circumstances, 
although  perfectly  confident  of  their  power  to  beat  off 
any  attack,  it  was  resolved  that  every  precaution  should 
"be  taken  when  the  time  approached. 

Late  one  afternoon,  however,  Mr.  Fitzgerald  had  gone 
out  for  a  ride  with  Mr.  Hardy.  Charley  had  gone  down 
to  the  dam  with  his  gun  on  his  shoulder,  and  Hubert  had 
ridden  to  a  pool  in  the  river  at  some  distance  off,  where 
he  had  the  day  before  observed  a  wild  duck,  which  he  be- 
lieved to  be  a  new  sort.  The  cattle  and  flocks  had  just 
been  driven  in  by  Lopez  and  two  mounted  peons  at  an 
earlier  hour  than  usual,  as  Mr.  Hardy  had  that  morning 
given  orders  that  the  animals  were  all  to  be  in  their  in- 
closures  before  dusk.  The  laborers  in  the  fields  below 
were  still  at  work  plowing.  Ethel  was  in  the  sitting- 
room  working  with  Mrs.  Hardy,  while  Maud  was  in  the 
garden  picking  some  fruit  for  tea. 

Presently  the  occupants  of  the  parlor  were  startled  by 
a  sharp  cry  from  Maud,  and  in  another  instant  she  flew 
into  the  room,  rushed  at  a  bound  to  the  fireplace, 
snatched  down  her  light  rifle  from  its  hooks  over  the 
mantel,  and  crying,  "Quick,  Ethel,  your  rifle !"  was 
gone  again  in  an  instant. 

Mrs.  Hardy  and  Ethel  sprang  to  their  feet,  too  sur- 
prised for  the  moment  to  do  anything,  and  then  Mrs. 
Hardy  repeated  Maud's  words,  "Quick,  Ethel,  your 
rifle !" 

Ethel  seized  it,  and  with  her  mother  ran  to  the  door. 
Then  they  saw  a  sight  which  brought  a  scream  from 
both  their  lips.  Mrs.  Hardy  fell  on  her  knees  and  cov- 
ered her  eyes,  while  Ethel,  after  a  moment's  pause, 
grasped  the  rifle,  which  had  nearly  fallen  from  her 
hands,  and  ran  forward,  though  her  limbs  trembled  so 
that  they  could  scarcely  carry  her  on. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

The  sight  was  indeed  a  terrible  one.  At  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  yards  Hubert  was  riding  for  his  life.  His 
hat  was  off,  his  gun  was  gone,  his  face  was  deadly 
pale.  Behind  him  rode  three  Indians.  The  nearest  one 
was  immediately  behind  him,  at  a  distance  of  scarce  two 
horses'  length;  the  other  two  were  close  to  their  leader. 
All  were  evidently  gaining  upon  him. 

Maud  had  thrown  the  gate  open,  and  stood  by  the  post 
with  the  barrel  of  her  rifle  resting  on  one  of  the  wires. 
"Steady,  Ethel,  steady,"  she  said  in  a  hard,  strange 
voice,  as  her  sister  joined  her;  "Hubert's  life  depends 
upon  your  aim.  Wait  till  I  fire,  and  take  the  man  on 
the  right.  Aim  at  his  chest." 

The  sound  of  Maud's  steady  voice  acted  like  magic 
upon  her  sister;  the  mist  which  had  swum  before  her 
eyes  cleared  off;  her  limbs  ceased  to  tremble,  and  her 
hand  grew  steady.  Hubert  was  now  within  a  hundred 
yards,  but  the  leading  Indian  was  scarce  a  horse's  length 
behind.  He  had  his  tomahawk  already  in  his  hand,  in 
readiness  for  the  fatal  blow.  Another  twenty  yards  and 
he  whirled  it  round  his  head  with  a  yell  of  exultation. 

"Stoop,  Hubert,  stoop!"  Maud  cried  in  a  loud,  clear 
voice;  and  mechanically,  with  the  wild  war-whoop  behind 
ringing  in  his  ears,  Hubert  bent  forward  on  to  the  horse's 
mane.  He  could  feel  the  breath  of  the  Indian's  horse 
against  his  legs,  and  his  heart  seemed  to  stand  still. 

Maud  and  her  rifle  might  have  been  taken  for  a  statue, 
so  immovable  and  rigid  did  she  stand;  and  then  as  the 
Indian's  arm  went  back  for  the  blow,  crack,  and  without 
a  word  or  a  cry  the  Indian  fell  back,  struck  with  the 
deadly  little  bullet  in  the  center  of  the  forehead. 

Not  so  silently  did  Ethel's  bullet  do  its  work.  A  wild 
cry  followed  the  report:  for  an  instant  the  Indian  reeled 
in  his  saddle,  and  then,  steadying  himself,  turned  hia 
horse  sharp  round,  and  with  his  companion  galloped  off. 


Pampas. 


HUBERT'S  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  INDIANS.— Page  172. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Hubert,  as  his  horse  passed  through  the  gate  and 
drew  up,  almost  fell  from  his  seat;  and  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  he  staggered  toward  Maud,  who 
had  gone  off  in  a  dead  faint  as  she  saw  him  ride  on  alone. 

Ethel  had  sat  down  on  the  ground,  and  was  crying 
passionately,  and  Terence  came  running  down  from  the 
house  with  a  gun  in  his  hand,  pouring  out  Irish  threats 
and  ejaculations  after  the  Indians.  These  were  changed 
into  a  shout  of  triumph  as  Charley  stepped  from  behind 
the  henhouse,  as  they  passed  at  a  short  distance,  and  at 
the  discharge  of  his  double  barrels  the  unwounded  Indian, 
fell  heavily  from  his  horse. 

Anxious  as  he  was  to  assist  his  young  mistresses,  for 
Hubert  was  far  too  shaken  to  attempt  to  lift  Maud  from 
the  ground,  Terence  stood  riveted  to  the  spot  watching 
the  remaining  Indian.  Twice  he  reeled  in  the  saddle, 
and  twice  recovered  himself,  but  the  third  time,  when 
he  was  distant  nearly  half  a  mile,  he  suddenly  fell  off  to 
the  ground. 

*  "I  thought  the  murdering  thief  had  got  it,"  muttered 
Terence  to  himself,  as  he  ran  down  to  raise  Maud,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Sarah  to  carry  her  up  to  the  house, 
against  the  doorway  of  which  Mrs.  Hardy  was  still  lean- 
ing, too  agitated  to  trust  herself  to  walk. 

Hubert,  now  somewhat  recovered,  endeavored  to 
pacify  Ethel,  and  the  two  walked  slowly  up  toward  the 
house.  In  a  minute  or  two  Charley  came  running  up, 
and  the  peons  were  seen  hurrying  toward  them.  After  a 
silent  shake  of  the  hand  to  his  brother,  and  a  short 
"Thank  God!"  Charley,  with  his  accustomed  energy, 
took  the  command. 

"Hubert,  do  you  and  Terence  get  all  the  arms  loaded 
at  once.  Lopez,  tell  the  peons  to  hurry  up  the  plow 
oxen,  shut  them  in  the  inclosure,  and  padlock  all  the 
gates.  I  will  "Warn  you  it  there's  any  danger.  Then 


174  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

bring  all  the  men  and  women  up  here.  I  am  going  to 
run  up  the-  danger  flag.  Papa  is  out  somewhere  on  the 
plains."  So  saying,  and  taking  his  Colt's  carbine,  he 
ran  up  the  stairs. 

In  a  moment  afterward  his  voice  was  heard  again. 
"Hubert,  Terence,  bring  all  the  guns  that  are  loaded  up 
here  at  once — quick,  quick!"  and  then  he  shouted  loudly 
in  Spanish,  "Come  in  all;  come  in  for  your  lives!"  In 
another  minute  they  joined  him  on  the  tower  with  Mr. 
Hardy's  long  rifle,  Hubert's  carbine,  and  their  double- 
barreled  shotguns,  into  each  of  which  Terence  dropped 
a  bullet  upon  the  top  of  the  shot.  Hubert  could  scarcely 
help  giving  a  cry.  At  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
Mr.  Hardy  and  Fitzgerald  were  coming  along,  pursued 
.by  at  least  a  dozen  Indians,  who  were  thirty  or  forty 
yards  in  their  rear.  They  were  approaching  from  behind 
the  house,  and  would  have  to  make  a  sweep  to  get  round 
to  the  entrance,  which  was  on  the  right,  on  the  side  fac- 
ing the  dam.  This  would  evidently  give  their  pursuers  a 
slight  advantage. 

"They  hold  their  own,"  Charley  said  after  a  minute's 
silence;  "there  is  no  fear.  Lopez!"  he  shouted,  "run 
and  see  that  the  outside  as  well  as  the  inside  gates  are 
open." 

It  has  been  already  said  that  a  low  wire  fence  had  been 
placed  at  a  distance  ;of  a  hundred  yards  beyond  the 
inner  inclosure,  to  protect  the  young  trees  from  the 
animals.  It  was  composed  of  two  wires,  only  a  foot 
apart,  and  was  almost  hidden  by  the  long  grass.  It  had 
a  low  gate,  corresponding  in  position  to  the  inner  one. 
Charley's  quick  eye  saw  at  once  the  importance  of  the 
position. 

"I  think  you  might  use  the  long  rifle  now,"  Hubert 
said;  "it  might  stop  them  if  they  feel  that  they  are  in 
reach  of  our  guns." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  175 

I 

"No,  no,"  Charley  said,  "I  don't  want  to  stop  them; 
don't  show  the  end  of  a  gun  above  the  wall."  Then  he 
was  silent  until  his  father  was  within  three  hundred 
yards.  He  then  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Mind 
the  outside  fence,  mind  the  outside  fence!" 

Mr.  Hardy  raised  a  hand  to  show  that  he  heard,  and  as 
he  approached,  Charley  shouted  again,  "Sweep  well  round 
the  fence,  well  round  it,  for  them  to  try  and  cut  you  off." 

Charley  could  see  that  Mr.  Hardy  heard,  for  he  turned 
his  horse's  head  so  as  to  go  rather  wide  of  the  corner  of 
the  fence.  "Now,  Hubert  and  Terence,  get  ready;  we 
shall  have  them  directly." 

Mr.  Hardy  and  his  companion  galloped  past,  with  the 
Indians  still  fifty  yards  behind  them.  Keeping  twenty 
yards  from  the  corner  of  the  fence,  the  fugitives  wheeled 
round  to  the  right,  and  the  Indians,  with  a  cry  of  exul- 
tation, turned  to  the  right  also  to  cut  them  off.  The 
low  treacherous  wire  was  unnoticed,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment men  and  horses  were  rolling  in  a  confused  mass 
upon  the  ground. 

"Now,"  Charley  said,  "every  barrel  we  have;"  and 
from  the  top  of  the  tower  a  rain  of  lead  poured  down 
upon  the  bewildered  Indians.  The  horses,  frightened 
and  wounded,  kicked  and  struggled  dreadfully,  and  did 
almost  as  much  harm  to  their  masters  as  the  deadly  bul- 
lets of  the  whites;  and  when  the  fire  ceased  not  more 
than  half  of  them  regained  their  seats  and  galloped  off, 
leaving  the  rest,  men  and  horses,  in  a  ghastly  heap. 
Seeing  them  in  full  retreat,  the  occupants  of  the  tower 
descended  to  receive  Mr.  Hardy  and  Fitzgerald,  Terence 
much  delighted  at  having  at  last  had  his  share  in  a 
skirmish. 

"Well  done,  boys!  Very  well  planned,  Charley!"  Mr. 
Hardy  said  as  he  reined  in  his  horse.  "That  was  a  near 
escape." 


176  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"Not  as  near  a  one  as  Hubert  has  had,  by  a  long  way, 
papa." 

"Indeed!"  Mr.  Hardy  said  anxiously.  "Let  me  hear 
all  about  it." 

"We  have  not  heard  ourselves  yet,"  Charley  answered. 
"It  occurred  only  a  few  minutes  before  your  own.  The 
girls  behaved  splendidly;  but  they  are  rather  upset  now. 
If  you  will  go  up  to  the  house  to  them,  I  will  be  up 
directly,  but  there  are  a  few  things  to  see  about  first. 
Lopez,"  he  went  on,  "carry  out  what  I  told  you  before: 
get  the  men  in  from  the  plows  and  see  all  secured.  Tell 
them  to  hurry,  for  it  will  be  dark  soon.  Kill  a  couple 
of  sheep  and  bring  them  up  to  the  house;  we  shall  be  a 
large  party,  and  it  may  be  wanted.  Then  let  the  peons 
all  have  supper.  Come  up  to  the  house  in  an  hour  for 
instructions.  See  yourself  that  the  dogs  are  fastened 
down  by  the  cattle.  Terence,  take  your  place  on  the 
lookout,  and  fire  a  gun  if  you  see  any  one  moving." 

Having  seen  that  his  various  orders  were  obeyed, 
Charley  went  up  to  the  house.  He  found  the  whole 
party  assembled  in  the  sitting-room.  Maud  and  Ethel 
had  quite  recovered,  although  both  looked  pale.  Mrs. 
Hardy,  absorbed  in  her  attention  to  them,  had  fortu- 
nately heard  nothing  of  her  husband's  danger  until  the 
firing  from  above,  followed  by  a  shout  of  triumph,  told 
her  that  any  danger  there  was  had  been  defeated. 

"Now,  papa,"  Charley  said,  "you  give  us  your  account 
first." 

"I  have  not  much  to  tell,  Charley.  Fitzgerald  and  I 
had  ridden  out  some  distance — five  miles,  I  should  say- 
when  the  dogs  stopped  at  a  thicket  and  put  out  a  lion. 
Fitzgerald  and  I  both  fired  with  our  left-hand  barrels, 
which  were  loaded  with  ball.  The  beast  fell,  and  we  got 
off  to  skin  him.  Dash  barked  furiously,  and  we  saw  a 
couple  of  dozen  Indians  coming  up  close  to  us.  We 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

stopped  a  moment  to  give  them  our  barrels  with  duck- 
shot,  and  then  jumped  into  our  saddles  and  rode  for  it. 
Unfortunately,  we  had  been  foolish  enough  to  go  out  with- 
out our  revolvers.  They  pressed  us  hard,  but  I  was  never 
in  fear  of  their  actually  catching  us;  my  only  alarm  was 
that  one  of  us  might  repeat  my  disaster  of  the  armadillo 
hole.  So  I  only  tried  to  hold  my  own  thirty  or  forty 
yards  ahead.  I  made  sure  that  one  or  other  of  you 
would  see  us  coming,  and  I  should  have  shouted  loudly 
enough,  I  can  tell  you,  to  warn  you  as  I  came  up.  Be- 
sides, I  knew  that  at  the  worst  the  arms  were  hanging 
above  the  fireplace,  and  that  we  only  wanted  time  to  run 
in,  catch  them  up,  and  get  to  the  door,  to  be  able  to 
defend  the  house  till  you  could  help  us.  And  now,  what 
is  your  story,  Charley?" 

"I  have  even  less  than  you,  papa.  I  was  down  at  the 
dam,  and  then  I  went  into  the  henhouse,  and  I  was  just 
thinking  that  I  could  make  a  better  arrangement  for  the 
nests,  when  I  heard  an  Indian  war-yell  between  me  and 
the  house.  It  was  followed  almost  directly  by  two  cracks 
which  I  knew  were  the  girls'  rifles.  I  rushed  to  the  door 
and  looked  out,  and  I  saw  two  Indians  coming  along  at 
full  gallop.  By  the  direction  they  were  taking,  they 
would  pass  only  a  little  way  from  the  henhouse;  so  I 
stepped  back  till  I  heard  they  were  opposite,  and  then, 
going  out,  I  gave  both  barrels  to  the  nearest  to  me,  and 
stopped  his  galloping  about  pretty  effectually.  When  I 
reached  the  place  I  saw  that  Hubert  had  had  a  narrow 
squeak  of  it,  for  Maud  had  fainted,  and  Ethel  was  in  a 
great  state  of  cry.  But  I  had  no  time  to  ask  many  ques* 
tions,  for  I  ran  up  to  hoist  the  danger  flag,  and  then  saw 
you  and  Fitzgerald  coming  along  with  the  Indians  after 
you.  Now,  Hubert,  let's  hear  your  story." 

"Well,  papa,  you  know  I  said  yesterday  that  I  was  sure 
that  I  had  seen  a  new  duck,  and  this  afternoon  I  rode 


130  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

out  altogether,  and  probably  they  have  resolved  upon 
vengeance  for  their  last  year's  defeat.  They  had  better 
have  left  it  alone,  for  they  have  no  more  chance  of  tak- 
ing this  house,  with  us  all  upon  our  guard,  than  they 
have  of  flying.  There  is  one  advantage  in  it — they  will 
get  such  a  lesson  that  I  do  think  we  shall  be  perfectly 
free  from  Indian  attacks  for  the  future." 

After  tea  Lopez  came  up  for  orders.  "You  will  place," 
Mr.  Hardy  said,  "two  peons  at  each  corner  of  the  out- 
side fence.  One  of  us  will  come  round  every  half -hour 
to  see  that  all  is  right.  Their  instructions  are  that  in 
case  they  hear  any  movement  one  is  to  come  up  to  us 
immediately  with  the  news,  and  the  other  is  to  go  round 
to  tell  the  other  sentries  to  do  the  same.  All  this  is  to 
be  done  in  perfect  silence.  I  do  not  want  them  to  know 
that  we  are  ready  for  their  reception.  Bring  some  fresh 
straw  up  and  lay  it  down  here  on  the  floor:  the  women 
can  sleep  here.'' 

"What  shall  I  do  about  your  own  horses,  signer?" 
Lopez  asked. 

Mr.  Hardy  thought  a  moment.  "I  think  you  had  bet- 
ter send  them  down  to  the  inclosure  with  the  others; 
they  might  be  driven  off  if  they  are  left  up  here,  and  I 
do  not  see  that  we  can  require  them." 

"But  what  about  the  cattle,  papa?"  Charley  asked. 
"It  would  be  a  serious  loss  if  they  were  driven  off,  espe- 
cially the  milch  cows.  If  you  like,  I  will  go  down  with 
Terence,  and  we  can  take  up  our  station  among  them. 
It  would  be  a  strong  post,  for  the  Indians  of  course  could 
not  attack  us  on  horseback;  and  with  my  carbine,  and 
Terence's  gun,  and  a  brace  of  revolvers,  I  think  we  could 
beat  them  off  easily  enough,  especially  as  you  would 
cover  us  with  your  guns." 

"I  had  thought  of  that  plan,  Charley;  but  it  would  bo 
dangerous,  and  would  cause  us  up  here  great  anxiety.  I 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  181 

imagine,  too,  that  as  no  doubt  their  great  object  is  venge- 
ance, they  will  attack  us  first  here,  or  they  may  make 
an  effort  upon  the  cattle  at  the  same  time  that  they 
attack  here.  They  will  not  begin  with  the  animals. 
They  will  find  it  a  very  difficult  business  to  break  down 
the  fence,  which  they  must  do  to  drive  them  out;  and 
while  they  are  about  it  we  shall  not  be  idle,  depend 
upon  it." 

The  preparations  were  soon  made,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  Mr.  Hardy  and  Hubert  should  go  the  rounds  alter- 
nately with  Charley  and  Fitzgerald.  As  a  usual  thing, 
the  Indian  attacks  take  place  in  the  last  hour  or  two  of 
darkness.  Mr.  Hardy  thought,  however,  that  an  excep- 
tion would  be  made  in  the  present  case,  in  order  that 
they  might  get  as  far  as  possible  away  before  any  pursuit 
took  place.  The  wives  of  the  peons  lay  down  to  sleep 
on  the  straw  which  had  been  thrown  down  for  them. 
The  men  sat  outside  the  door,  smoking  their  cigarettes 
and  talking  in  low  whispers.  Mrs.  Hardy  was  in  her 
room;  Ethel  kept  her  company,  Maud  dividing  her  time 
between  them  and  the  top  of  the  tower,  where  Mr. 
Hardy,  Fitzgerald,  and  the  boys  were  assembled  in  the 
intervals  between  going  their  rounds. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  there  was  a  sharp  bark  from  one 
of  the  dogs  fastened  up  by  the  fold,  followed  up  by  a 
general  barking  of  all  the  dogs  on  the  establishment. 

"There  they  are,"  Mr.  Hardy  said.  "Charley,  bring 
the  mastiffs  inside,  and  order  them,  and  the  retrievers 
too,  to  be  quiet.  We  do  not  want  any  noise  up  here,  to 
tell  the  Indians  that  we  are  on  the  watch.  Now,  Fitz- 
gerald, you  go  to  the  sentries  behind  the  house,  and  I 
will  go  to  those  in  front,  to  tell  them  to  fall  back  at 
once." 

This  mission  was,  however,  unnecessary,  for  the  eight 
peons  ail  arrived  in  a  minute  or  two,  having  fled  from 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

their  posts  at  the  first  barking  of  the  dogs,  and  without 
obeying  their  orders  to  send  round  to  each  other  to  give 
notice  of  their  retreat. 

Mr.  Hardy  was  very  angry  with  them,  but  they  were 
in  such  abject  fear  of  the  Indians  that  they  paid  little 
heed  to  their  master's  words,  but  went  and  huddled 
themselves  together  upon  the  straw  in  the  sitting-room, 
remaining  there  without  movement  until  all  was  over. 
Terence  was  now  recalled  from  the  gate,  which  had  been 
his  post. 

"Did  you  hear  anything,  Terence?" 

"Sure,  your  honor,  and  I  thought  I  heard  a  dull 
sound  like  a  lot  of  horses  galloping  in  the  distance.  I 
should  say  that  there  were  a  great  many  of  them.  It 
seemed  to  get  a  little  louder,  and  then  it  stopped." 

"That  was  before  the  dogs  began  to  bark,  Terence?" 

4 ' About  five  minutes  before,  your  honor." 

"Yes.  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  all  dismounted  to 
make  the  attack  on  foot.  How  quiet  everything  is!" 

The  general  barking  of  the  dogs  had  now  ceased: 
sometimes  one  or  another  gave  a  suspicious  yelping 
bark,  but  between  these  no  sound  whatever  was  audible. 
The  door  was  now  closed  and  barred;  candles  were 
lighted  and  placed  in  every  room,  thick  cloths  having 
been  hung  up  before  the  loopholes  in  the  shutters,  to 
prevent  a  ray  of  light  from  escaping;  and  the  windows 
themselves  were  opened.  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  the  boys,  and 
Maud  took  their  station  on  the  tower,  Mr.  Hardy  re- 
maining with  his  wife  and  Ethel,  while  Terence  and 
Lopez  kept  watch  in  the  other  apartments.  The  ar- 
rangements for  the  defense  were  that  Mr.  Fitzgerald, 
Lopez,  and  Terence  should  defend  the  lower  part  of  the 
house.  There  were  in  all  six  double-barreled  guns- 
two  to  each  of  them;  and  three  of  the  peons  more  cour- 
ageous than  the  others  offered  to  load  the  guns  as  they 
were  discharged. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  183 

Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys  had  their  place  on  the  tower, 
from  which  they  commanded  the  whole  garden.  They 
had  the  long  rifle,  the  carbines,  and  four  revolvers. 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  took  their  place  in  the  upper 
room  of  the  tower,  where  there  was  a  light.  Their  rifles 
were  ready  in  case  of  necessity,  but  their  principal  duty 
was  to  load  the  spare  chambers  of  the  carbines  and 
pistols  as  fast  as  they  were  emptied,  the  agreement  be- 
ing that  the  girls  should  go  up  by  turns  to  take  the 
loaded  ones  and  bring  down  the  empties.  Sarah's  place 
was  her  kitchen,  where  she  could  hear  all  that  was  going 
on  below,  and  she  was  to  call  up  the  ladder  in  case  aid 
•was  required.  And  so,  all  being  in  readiness,  they 
calmly  awaited  the  attack. 


184  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  INDIAN   ATTACK. 

FOR  nearly  half  an  hour  the  occupants  of  the  tower 
remained  without  hearing  the  smallest  sound.  Then 
there  was  a  slight  jarring  noise. 

"They  are  getting  over  the  fence,"  Mr.  Hardy  whis- 
pered. "Go  down  now  every  one  to  his  station.  Keep 
the  dogs  quiet,  and  mind,  let  no  one  fire  until  I  give  the 
signal." 

Over  and  over  again  the  clinking  noise  was  repeated. 
Cautious  as  the  Indians  were,  it  was  impossible  even  for 
them  to  get  over  that  strange  and  difficult  obstacle  with- 
out touching  the  wires  with  their  arms.  Occasionally 
Mr.  Hardy  and  the  boys  fancied  that  they  could  see  dark 
objects  stealing  toward  the  house  through  the  gloom; 
otherwise  all  was  still. 

"Boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "I  have  changed  my  mind. 
There  will  be  numbers  at  the  doors  and  windows,  whom 
we  cannot  get  at  from  here.  Steal  quietly  downstairs, 
and  take  your  position  each  at  a  window.  Then,  when 
the  signal  is  given,  fire  both  your  revolvers.  Don't 
throw  away  a  shot.  Darken  all  the  rooms  except  the 
kitchen.  You  will  see  better  to  take  aim  through  the 
loopholes;  it  will  be  quite  light  outside.  When  you  have 
emptied  your  revolvers,  come  straight  up  here,  leaving 
them  for  the  girls  to  load  as  you  pass." 
L  Without  a  word  the  boys  slipped  away.  Mr.  Hardy 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

tfoen  placed  on  a  round  shelf  nailed  to  the  flagstaff,  at 
about  eight  feet  from  -the  ground,  a  blue-light,  fitting 
into  a  socket  on  the  shelf.  The  shelf  was  made  just  so 
large  that  it  threw  a  shadow  over  the  top  of  the  tower, 
so  that  those  standing  there  were  in  comparative  dark- 
ness, while  everything  around  was  in  bright  light. 
There,  with  a  match  in  his  hand  to  light  the  blue-light, 
he  awaited  the  signal. 

It  was  a  long  time  coming— so  long  that  the  pause 
grew  painful,  and  every  one  in  the  house  longed  for  the 
bursting  of  the  coming  storm.  At  last  it  came.  A  wild, 
long,  savage  yell  from  hundreds  of  throats  rose  on  the 
still  night  air,  and,  confident  as  they  were  in  their  posi- 
tion, there  was  not  one  of  the  garrison  but  felt  his  blood 
grow  cold  at  the  appalling  ferocity  of  the  cry.  Simulta- 
neously there  was  a  tremendous  rush  at  the  doors  and 
windows,  which  tried  the  strength  of  frame  and  bar. 
Then,  as  they  stood  firm,  came  a  rain  of  blows  with 
hatchet  and  tomahawk. 

Then  came  a  momentary  pause  of  astonishment.  The 
weapons,  instead  of  splintering  the  wood,  merely  made 
deep  dents,  or  glided  off  harmlessly.  Then  the  blows 
redoubled,  and  then  a  bright  light  suddenly  lit  up  the 
whole  scene.  As  it  did  so,  from  every  loophole  a  stream 
of  fire  poured  out,  repeated  again  and  again.  The  guns, 
heavily  loaded  with  buckshot,  told  with  terrible  effect 
upon  the  crowded  mass  of  Indians  around  the  windows, 
and  the  discharge  of  the  four  barrels  from  each  of  the 
three  windows  of  the  room  at  the  back  of  the  house,  by 
Fitzgerald,  Lopez,  and  Terence,  for  awhile  cleared  the 
assailants  from  that  quarter.  After  the  first  yell  of 
astonishment  and  rage,  a  perfect  quiet  succeeded  to  the 
din  which  had  raged  there,  broken  only  by  the  ring  of 
the  ramrods,  as  the  three  men  and  their  assistants  hastily 
reloaded  their  guns,  and  then  hurried  to  the  front  of  the 
house,  where  their  presence  was  urgently  required. 


136  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Knowing  the  tremendous  rush  there  would  be  at  the 
door,  Charley  and  Hubert  had  posted  themselves  at  its 
two  loopholes,  leaving  the  windows  to  take  care  of 
themselves  for  the  present.  The  first  rush  was  so  tre- 
mendous that  the  door  trembled  on  its  posts,  massive  as 
it  was;  and  the  boys,  thinking  that  it  would  come  in, 
threw  the  weight  of  their  bodies  against  it.  Then  with 
the  failure  of  the  first  rush  came  the  storm  of  blows; 
and  the  boys  stood  with  their  pistols  leveled  through  the 
holes,  waiting  for  the  light  which  was  to  enable  them  to 
see  their  foes. 

As  it  came  they  fired  together,  and  two  Indians  fell. 
Again  and  again  they  fired,  until  not  an  Indian  remained 
standing  opposite  the  fatal  door.  Then  each  took  a  win- 
dow, for  there  was  one  at  each  side  of  the  door,  and 
these  they  held,  rushing  occasionally  into  the  rooms  on 
either  side  to  check  the  assailants  there. 

In  this  fight  Sarah  had  certainly  the  honor  of  first 
blood.  She  was  a  courageous  woman,  and  was  deter- 
mined to  do  her  best  in  defense  of  the  house.  As  an 
appropriate  weapon,  she  had  placed  the  end  of  the  spit 
in  the  fire,  and  at  the  moment  of  the  attack  it  was  white- 
hot.  Seeing  [the  shutter  bend  with  the  pressure  of  the 
Indians  against  it,  she  seized  the  spit,  and  plunged  it 
through  the  loophole  with  all  her  force.  A  fearful  yell 
followed,  which  rose  even  above  the  tremendous  din 
around. 

There  was  a  lull  so  profound  after  the  discharge  of 
the  last  barrels  of  the  boys'  revolvers  as  to  be  almost 
startling.  Eunning  upstairs,  they  fitted  fresh  chambers 
to  their  weapons,  left  the  empty  ones  with  their  sisters, 
and  joined  their  father. 

"That's  "right,  boys;  the  attack  is  beaten  off  for  the 
present.  Now  take  your  carbines.  There  is  a  band  of 
Indians  down  by  the  animals.  I  heard  their  war-whoops 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  1ST 

when  the  others  began,  but  the  light  hardly  reaches  so 
far.  Now  look  out,  I  am  going  to  send  up  a  rocket  over 
them.  The  cows  are  the  most  important;  so,  Charley, 
you  direct  all  your  shots  at  any  party  there.  Hubert, 
divide  yours  among  the  rest." 

In  another  moment  the  rocket  flew  up  into  the  air, 
and  as  the  bright  light  burst  out  a  group  of  Indians 
could  be  seen  at  the  gateway  of  each  of  the  inclosures. 
As  the  brilliant  light  broke  over  them  they  scattered 
with  a  cry  of  astonishment.  Before  the  light  faded  the 
twelve  barrels  had  been  fired  among  them. 

As  the  rocket  burst  Mr.  Hardy  had  gazed  eagerly  over 
the  country,  and  fancied  that  he  could  see  a  dark  mass 
at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  This  he  guessed  to  be  the 
Indians'  horses. 

;  By  this  time  the  blue-light  was  burning  low,  and  Mr. 
Hardy,  stretching  his  hand  up,  lit  another  at  its  blaze, 
and  planted  the  fresh  one  down  upon  it.  As  he  did  so 
a  whizzing  of  numerous  Jarrows  showed  that  they  were 
watched.  One  wefct  through  his  coat,  fortunately  with- 
out touching  him;  another  went  right  through  his  arm; 
and  a  third  laid  Charley's  cheek  open  from  the  lip  to  the 
ear. 

"Keep  your  heads  below  the  wall,  boys,"  their  father 
shouted.  "Are  you  hurt,  Charley?" 

"Not  seriously,  papa,  but  it  hurts  awfully;"  and 
Charley  stamped  with  rage  and  pain. 

"What  has  become  of  the  Indians  round  the  house?" 
Hubert  asked.  "They  are  making  no  fresh  attack." 

"No,"  Mr.  Hardy  said;  "they  have  had  enough  of  it. 
They  are  only  wondering  how  they  are  to  get  away. 
You  see  the  fence  is  exposed  all  round  to  our  fire,  for 
the  trees  don't  go  within  twenty  yards  of  it.  They  are 
neither  in  front  nor  behind  the  house,  for  it  is  pretty 
open  in  both  directions,  and  we  should  see  them.  They 


183  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

are  .not  at  this  side  of  the  house,  so  they  must  be  stand- 
ing close  to  the  wall  between  the  windows,  and  must  be 
crowded  among  the  trees  and  shrubs  at  the  other  end. 
There  is  no  window  there,  so  they  are  safe  as  long  as 
they  stay  quiet." 

"No,  papa,"  Hubert  said  eagerly;  "don't  you  remem- 
ber we  left  two  loopholes  in  each  room,  when  we  built  it, 
on  purpose,  only  putting  in  pieces  of  wood  and  filling  up 
the  cracks  with  clay  to  keep  out  the  wind?" 

"Of  course  we  did,  Hubert.  I  remember  all  about  it 
now.  Kun  down  and  tell  them  to  be  ready  to  pull  the 
wood  out  and  to  fire  through  when  they  hear  the  next 
rocket  go  off.  I  am  going  to  send  another  light  rocket 
over  in  the  direction  where  I  saw  the  horses;  and  directly 
I  get  the  line  I  will  send  off  cracker-rocket  after  cracker- 
rocket  as  quickly  as  I  can  at  them.  What  with  the  fire 
from  below  among  them,  and  the  fright  they  will  get 
when  they  see  the  horses  attacked,  they  are  sure  to  make 
a  rush  for  it." 

In  a  minute  Hubert  came  back  with  the  word  that  the 
men  below  were  ready.  In  a  moment  a  rocket  soared 
far  away  to  behind  the  house;  and  just  as  its  light  broke 
over  the  plains  another  one  swept  over  in  the  direction 
of  a  dark  mass  of  animals,  seen  plainly  enough  in  the 
distance. 

A  cry  of  dismay  burst  from  th0  Indians,  rising  in  yefc 
wilder  alarm  as  three  shots  were  fired  from  the  wall  of 
the  house  into  their  crowded  mass.  Again  and  again 
was  the  discharge  repeated,  and  with  a  yell  of  dismay  a 
wild  rush  was  made  for  the  fence.  Then  the  boys  with 
their  carbines,  and  Mr.  Hardy  with  the  revolvers,  opened 
upon  them,  every  shot  telling  in  the  dense  mass  who 
struggled  to  surmount  the  fatal  railings. 

Frenzied  with  the  danger,  dozens  attempted  to  climb 
them,  and,  strong  as  were  the  wires  and  posts,  there  waa 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  189 

a  cracking  sound,  and  the  whole  side  fell.  In  another 
minute,  of  the  struggling  mass  there  remained  only 
some  twenty  motionless  forms.  Three  or  four  more 
rockets  were  sent  off  in  the  direction  where  the  horses 
had  been  seen,  and  then  another  signal  rocket,  whose 
light  enabled  them  to  see  that  the  black  mass  was  broken 
np,  and  that  the  whole  plain  was  covered  with  scattered 
figures  of  men  and  animals,  all  flying  at  the  top  of  their 
speed. 

"Thank  God,  it  is  all  over,  and  we  are  safe!"  Mr. 
Hardy  said  solemnly.  "Never  again  will  an  Indian 
attack  be  made  upon  Mount  Pleasant.  It  is  all  over 
now,  my  dear,"  he  said  to  Mrs.  Hardy  as  he  went 
down  the  stairs;  "they  are  off  all  over  the  country, 
and  it  will  take  them  hours  to  get  their  horses 
together  again.  Two  of  us  have  got  scratched  with 
arrows,  but  no  real  harm  is  done.  Charley's  is  only  a 
flesh  wound.  Don't  be  frightened,"  he  added  quickly, 
as  Mrs.  Hardy  turned  pale  and  the  girls  gave  a  cry  at 
the  appearance  of  Charley's  face,  which  was  certainly 
alarming.  "A  little  warm  water  and  a  bandage  will  put 
it  all  right." 

"Do  you  think  it  will  leave  a  scar?"  Charley  asked 
rather  dolorously. 

"Well,  Charley,  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  does; 
but  it  won't  spoil  your  beauty  long,  your  whiskers  will 
cover  it:  besides,  a  scar  won  in  honorable  conflict  is 
always  admired  by  ladies,  you  know.  Now  let  us  go 
downstairs;  my  arm,  too,  wants  bandaging,  for  it  is  be- 
ginning to  smart  amazingly;  and  I  am  sure  we  all  must 
want  something  to  eat." 

The  supper  was  eaten  hurriedly,  and  then  all  but 
Terence,  who,  as  a  measure  of  precaution,  was  -stationed 
as  watchman  on  the  tower,  were  glad  to  lie  down  for 
a  few  hours'  sleep.  At  daybreak  they  were  up  and 
moving. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Mr.Hardy  requested  that  neither  his  wife  nor  daughters 
should  go  outside  the  house  until  the  dead  Indians  were 
removed  and  buried,  as  the  sight  could  not  but  be  a  most 
shocking  one.  Two  of  the  peons  were  ordered  to  put  in 
the  oxen  and  bring  up  two  carts,  and  the  rest  of  the 
men  set  about  the  unpleasant  duty  of  examining  and 
collecting  the  slain. 

These  were  even  more  numerous  than  Mr.  Hardy  had 
anticipated,  and  showed  how  thickly  they  must  have 
been  clustered  round  the  door  and  windows.  The  guns 
had  been  loaded  with  buckshot;  two  bullets  he  dropped 
down  each  barrel  in  addition;  and  the  discharge  of  these 
had  been  most  destructive,  more  especially  those  fired 
through  the  loopholes  at  the  end  of  the  house.  There 
no  less  than  sixteen  bodies  were  found,  while  around  the 
door  and  windows  were  thirteen  others.  All  these  were 
dead.  The  guns,  having  been  discharged  through  loop- 
holes breast-high,  had  taken  effect  upon  the  head  and 
body. 

At  the  fence  were  fourteen.  Of  these  twelve  were 
dead,  another  still  breathed,  but  was  evidently  dying, 
while  one  had  only  a  broken  leg.  Unquestionably  sev- 
eral others  had  been  wounded,  but  had  managed  to  make 
off.  The  bullets  of  revolvers,  unless  striking  a  mortal 
point,  disable  a  wounded  man  much  less  than  the  balls 
of  heavier  caliber.  It  was  evidently  useless  to  remove 
the  Indian  who  was  dying;  all  that  could  be  done  for 
him  was  to  give  him  a  little  water,  and  to  place  a  bundle 
of  grass  so  as  to  raise  his  head.  Half  an  hour  later  he 
was  dead.  The  other  wounded  man  was  carried  care- 
fully down  to  one  of  the  sheds,  where  a  rbed  of  hay  was 
prepared  for  him.  Two  more  wounded  men  were  found 
down  by  the  cattle  inclosures,  and  these  also  Mr.  Hardy 
considered  likely  to  recover.  They  were  taken  up  and 
laid  by  their  comrade.  Three  dead  bodies  were  found 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  191 

here.  These  were  all  taken  in  the  bullock  carts  to  a 
spot  distant  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  house. 

Here,  by  the  united  labor  of  the  peons,  a  large  grave 
was  dug,  six  feet  wide,  as  much  deep,  and  twelve  yards 
long.  In  this  they  were  laid  side  by  side,  two  deep;  the 
earth  was  filled  in,  and  the  turf  replaced.  At  Hubert's 
suggestion,  two  young  palm  trees  were  taken  out  of  the 
garden  and  placed  one  at  each  end,  and  a  wire  fence  was 
erected  all  round,  to  keep  off  the  animals. 

It  was  a  sad  task;  and  although  they  had  been  killed 
in  an  attack  in  which,  had  they  been  victorious,  they 
would  have  shown  no  mercy,  still  Mr.  Hardy  and  his 
sons  were  deeply  grieved  at  having  caused  the  destruc- 
tion of  so  many  lives. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  all  was  done,  and 
the  party  returned  to  the  house  with  lightened  hearts, 
that  the  painful  task  was  finished.  Here  things  had 
nearly  resumed  their  ordinary  aspect.  Terence  had 
washed  away  the  stains  of  blood;  and  save  that  many  of 
the  young  trees  had  been  broken  down,  and  that  one 
side  of  the  fence  was  leveled,  no  one  would  have  imag- 
ined that  a  sanguinary  contest  had  taken  place  there  so 
lately. 

Mr.  Hardy  stopped  on  the  way  to  examine  the  wounded 
men.  He  had  acquired  a  slight  knowledge  of  rough 
surgery  in  his  early  life  upon  the  prairies,  and  he  dis- 
covered the  bullet  at  a  short  distance  under  the  skin  in 
the  broken  leg.  Making  signs  to  the  man  that  he  was 
going  to  do  him  good,  and  calling  in  Fitzgerald  and 
Lopez  to  hold  the  Indian  if  necessary,  he  took  out  his 
knife,  cut  down  to  the  bullet,  and  with  some  trouble 
succeeded  in  extracting  it.  The  Indian  never  flinched  or 
groaned,  although  the  pain  must  have  been  very  great 
while  the  operation  was  being  performed.  Mr.  Hardy 
then  carefully  bandaged  the  limb,  and  directed  that 


192  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

cold  water  should  be  poured  over  it  from  time  to  time, 
to  allay  the  inflammation.  Another  of  the  Indiana  had 
his  ankle-joint  broken:  this  was  also  carefully  bandaged. 
The  third  had  a  bullet  wound  near  the  hip,  and  with 
this  Mr.  Hardy  could  do  nothing.  His  recovery  or 
death  would  depend  entirely  upon  nature. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  at  once  that  all  three  of  the 
Indians  eventually  recovered,  although  two  of  them 
were  slightly  lamed  for  life.  All  that  care  and  attention 
could  do  for  them  was  done;  and  when  they  were  in  a 
fit  condition  to  travel  their  horses  and  a  supply  of  provi- 
sions were  given  to  them.  The  Indians  had  maintained 
during  the  whole  time  the  stolid  apathy  of  their  race. 
They  had  expressed  no  thanks  for  the  kindness  bestowed 
upon  them.  Only  when  their  horses  were  presented  to 
them,  and  bows  and  arrows  placed  in  their  hands,  with 
an  intimation  that  they  were  free  to  go,  did  their  coun- 
tenances change. 

Up  to  that  time  it  is  probable  that  they  believed  that 
they  were  only  being  kept  to  be  solemnly  put  to  death. 
Their  faces  lit  up,  and  without  a  word  they  sprang  on, 
to  the  horses'  backs,  and  dashed  over  the  plains. 

Ere  they  had  gone  three  hundred  yards  they  halted, 
and  came  back  at  equal  speed,  stopping  abruptly  before 
the  surprised  and  rather  startled  group.  "Good  man," 
the  eldest  of  them  said,  pointing  to  Mr.  Hardy. 
"Good,"  he  repeated,  motioning  to  the  boys.  "Good 
misses,"  and  he  included  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls;  and 
then  the  three  turned  and  never  slackened  their  speed  as 
long  as  they  were  in  sight. 

The  Indians  of  the  South  American  pampas  and 
sierras  are  a  very  inferior  race  to  the  noble-looking 
Comanches  and  Apaches  of  the  North  American  prairies. 
They  are  generally  short,  wiry  men,  with  long  black 
hair.  They  have  flat  faces,  with  high  cheek  bones. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  193 

Their  complexion  is  a  dark  copper  color,  and  they  are 
generally  extremely  ugly. 

In  the  course  of  the  morning  after  the  fight  Mr. 
Cooper  rode  over  from  Canterbury,  and  was  greatly  sur- 
prised to  hear  of  the  attack.  The  Indians  had  not  been 
seen  or  heard  of  at  his  estate,  and  he  was  ignorant  of 
anything  having  taken  place  until  his  arrival. 

For  the  next  few  days  there  was  quite  a  levee  of  vis- 
itors, who  came  over  to  hear  of  the  particulars,  and  to 
offer  their  congratulations.  All  the  outlying  settlers 
were  particularly  pleased,  as  it  was  considered  certain 
that  the  Indians  would  not  visit  that  neighborhood  again 
for  some  time. 

Shortly  afterward  the  government  sales  for  the  land 
beyond  Mount  Pleasant  took  place.  Mr.  Hardy  went  over 
to  Eosario  to  attend  them,  and  bought  the  plot  of  four 
square  leagues  immediately  adjoining  his  own,  giving 
the  same  price  that  he  had  paid  for  Mount  Pleasant.  The 
properties  on  each  side  of  this  were  purchased  by  the  two 
Edwards,  and  by  an  Englishman  who  had  lately  arrived 
in  the  colony.  His  name  was  Mercer:  he  was  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  two  young  children,  and  his 
wife's  brother,  whose  name  was  Parkinson.  Mr.  Hardy 
had  made  their  acquaintance  at  Rosario,  and  pronounced 
them  to  be  a  very  pleasant  family.  They  had  brought 
out  a  considerable  capital,  and  were  coming  in  a  week 
with  a  strong  force  to  erect  their  house.  Mr.  Hardy 
had  promised  them  every  assistance,  and  had  invited 
Mrs.  Mercer  to  take  up  her  abode  at  Mount  Pleasant 
with  her  children,  until  the  frame  house  which  they  had 
brought  out  could  be  erected — an  invitation  which  had 
been  gladly  accepted. 

There  was  great  pleasure  at  the  thought  of  another 
lady  in  the  neighborhood;  and  Mrs.  Hardy  was  especially 
pleased  for  the  girls'  sake,  as  she  thought  that  a  littia 
female  society  would  be  of  .very  great  advantage  to  them. 


194  OUT  °H  THE 

The  plots  of  land  next  to  the  Mercers  and  Edwards 
•were  bought,  the  one  by  three  or  four  Germans  working 
as  a  company  together,  the  other  by  Don  Martinez,  an 
enterprising  young  Spaniard;  so  that  the  Hardys  began 
to  be  in  quite  an  inhabited  country.  It  is  true  that 
most  of  the  houses  would  be  six  miles  off;  but  that  is 
close,  on  the  pampas.  There  was  a  talk,  too,  of  the 
native  overseer  of  the  land  between  Canterbury  and  the 
Jamiesons  selling  his  ground  in  plots  of  a  mile  square. 
This  would  make  the  country  comparatively  thickly 
populated.  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Mercer, 
who  had  taken  up  a  four-league  plot,  the  other  new  set- 
tlers had  in  no  case  purchased  more  than  a  square  league. 
The  settlements  would  therefore  be  pretty  thick  together. 

In  a  few  days  Mrs.  Mercer  arrived  with  her  children. 
The  boys  gave  up  their  room  to  her— they  themselves, 
with  Mr.  Fitzgerald  and  four  peons,  accompanying  Mr. 
Mercer  and  the  party  he  had  brought  with  him,  to  assist 
in  erecting  his  house,  and  in  putting  up  a  strong  wire 
fence,  similar  to  their  own,  for  defense.  This  operation 
was  finished  in  a  week;  and  Mrs.  Mercer,  to  the  regret 
of  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls,  then  joined  her  husband. 
The  house  had  been  built  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  property.  It  was  therefore  little  more  than  six 
miles  distant  from  Mount  Pleasant,  and  a  constant  in- 
terchange of  visits  was  arranged  to  take  place. 

Shortly  afterward  Mr.  Hardy  suggested  that  the  time 
had  now  come  for  improving  the  house,  and  laid  before 
his  assembled  family  his  plans  for  so  doing,  which  were 
received  with  great  applause. 

The  new  portion  was  to  stand  in  front  of  the  old,  and 
was  to  consist  of  a  wide  entrance-hall,  with  a  large  din- 
ing and  drawing-room  upon  either  side.  Upon  the  floor 
above  were  to  be  four  bedrooms.  The  old  sitting-room 
was  to  be  made  into  the  kitchen,  and  was  to  be  lighted 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  195 

by  a  skylight  in  the  roof.  The  present  kitchen  was  to 
become  a  laundry,  the  windows  of  that  and  the  bedroom 
opposite  being  placed  in  the  side  walls,  instead  of  being 
in  front.  The  new  portion  was  to  be  made  of  properly 
baked  bricks,  and  was  to  be  surrounded  by  a  wide 
veranda.  Of  the  present  bedrooms,  two  were  to  be  used 
as  spare  rooms,  one  of  the  others  being  devoted  to  two 
additional  indoor  servants  whom  it  was  now  proposed  to 
keep. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  carts  should  at  once  com- 
mence going  backward  and  forward  to  Rosario,  to  fetch 
coal  for  the  brickmaking,  tiles,  wood,  etc.,  and  that  an 
experienced  brickmaker  should  be  engaged,  all  the 
hands  at  the  farm  being  fully  occupied.  It  would  take 
a  month  or  six  weeks,  it  was  calculated,  before  all  would 
be  ready  to  begin  building;  and  then  Mrs.  Hardy  and 
the  girls  were  to  start  for  a  long  promised  visit  to  their 
friends  the  Thompsons,  near  'Buenos  Ayres,  so  as  to  be 
away  during  the  mess  and  confusion  of  the  building. 
An  engagement  was  made  on  the  following  week  with 
two  Italian  women  at  Rosario,  the  one  as  a  cook,  the 
other  as  general  servant,  Sarah  undertaking  the  manage- 
ment of  the  dairy  during  her  mistress'  absence. 


3L9S  OUT  ON  THE  PAMP&& 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TERRIBLE  NEWS. 

ANOTHER  two  years  passed  over,  bringing  increased 
prosperity  to  the  Hardys.  No  renewal  of  the  Indian 
attacks  had  occurred,  and  in  consequence  an  increased 
flow  of  emigration  had  taken  place  in  their  neighbor- 
hood. Settlers  were  now  established  upon  all  the  lots 
for  many  miles  upon  either  side  of  Mount  Pleasant;  and 
even  beyond  the  twelve  miles  which  the  estate  stretched 
to  the  south  the  lots  had  been  sold.  Mr.  Hardy  con- 
sidered that  all  danger  of  the  flocks  and  herds  being 
driven  off  had  now  ceased,  and  had  therefore  added  con- 
siderably to  their  numbers,  and  had  determined  to  allow 
them  to  increase  without  further  sales  until  they  had 
attained  to  the  extent  of  the  supporting  power  of  the 
immense  estate. 

Two  hundred  acres  of  irrigated  land  were  under  culti- 
vation; the  dairy  contained  the  produce  of  a  hundred 
cows;  and  altogether  Mount  Pleasant  was  considered 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  profitable  estancias  in  the 
province. 

The  house  was  now  worthy  of  the  estate;  the  inside 
fence  had  been  removed  fifty  yards  further  off,  and  the 
vegetable  garden  to  a  greater  distance,  the  inclosed 
space  being  laid  out  entirely  as  a  pleasure  garden. 

Beautiful  tropical  trees  and  shrubs,  gorgeous  patches 
of  flowers,  and  green  turf  surrounded  the  front  and 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  19? 

Sides;  while  behind  was  a  luxuriant  and  most  produc- 
tive orchard. 

The  young  Hardys  had  for  some  time  given  up  doing 
any  personal  labor,  and  were  incessantly  occupied  in  the 
supervision  of  the  estate  and  of  the  numerous  hands  em- 
ployed: for  them  a  long  range  of  adobe  huts  had  been 
built  at  some  little  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  inclosure. 

Maud  and  Ethel  had  during  this  period  devoted  much 
more  time  to  their  studies,  and  the  time  was  approaching 
when  Mrs.  Hardy  was  to  return  with  them  to  England, 
in  order  that  they  might  pass  a  year  in  London  under 
the  instruction  of  the  best  masters.  Maud  was  now 
seventeen,  and  could  fairly  claim  to  be  looked  upon  as  a 
young  woman.  Ethel  still  looked  very  much  younger 
than  her  real  age:  any  one,  indeed,  would  have  guessed 
that  there  was  at  least  three  years'  difference  between 
the  sisters.  In  point  of  acquirements,  however,  she  waa 
quite  her  equal,  her  much  greater  perseverance  more 
than  making  up  for  her  sister's  quickness. 

A  year  previously  Mr.  Hardy  had,  at  one  of  his  visits 
to  Buenos  Ayres,  purchased  a  piano,  saying  nothing  of 
what  he  had  done  upon  his  return;  and  the  delight  of 
the  girls  and  their  mother,  when  the  instrument  arrived 
in  a  bullock  cart,  was  unbounded.  From  that  time  the 
girls  practiced  almost  incessantly;  indeed,  as  Charley 
remarked,  it  was  as  bad  as  living  in  the  house  with  a 
whole  boarding-school  of  girls. 

After  this  Mpunt  Pleasant,  which  had  always  been 
considered  as  the  most  hospitable  and  pleasant  estancia 
in  the  district,  became  more  than  ever  popular,  and  many 
were  the  impromptu  dances  got  up.  Sometimes  there 
were  more  formal  affairs,  and  all  the  ladies  within  twenty 
miles  would  come  in.  These  were  more  numerous  than 
would  have  been  expected.  The  Jamiesons  were  doing 
well,  and  in  turn  going  for  a  visit  to  their  native  country, 


298  OVT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

liad  brought  out  two  bright  young  Scotchwomen  as 
their  wives. 

Mrs.  Mercer  was  sure  to  be  there,  and  four  or  five 
other  English  ladies  from  nearer  or  more  distant  estancias. 
Some  ten  or  twelve  native  ladies,  wives  or  daughters  of 
native  proprietors,  would  also  come  in,  and  the  dancing 
would  be  kept  up  until  a  very  late  hour.  Then  the  ladies 
would  lie  down  for  a  short  time,  all  the  beds  being  given  up 
to  them,  and  a  number  of  shake-downs  improvised;  while 
the  gentlemen  would  sit  and  smoke  for  an  hour  or  two, 
and  then,  as  day  broke,  go  down  for  a  bathe  in  the  river. 
These  parties  were  looked  upon  by  all  as  most  enjoyable 
affairs;  and  as  eatables  of  all  sorts  were  provided  by  the 
estate  itself,  they  were  a  very  slight  expense,  and  were 
of  frequent  occurrence.  Only  one  thing  Mr.  Hardy  bar- 
gained for — no  wines  or  other  expensive  liquors  were  to 
be  drunk.  He  was  doing  well — far,  indeed,  beyond  his 
utmost  expectation— but  at  the  same  time  he  did  not  con- 
sider himself  justified  in  spending  money  upon  luxuries. 

Tea,  therefore,  and  cooling  drinks  made  from  fruits, 
after  the  custom  of  the  country,  were  provided  in  abun- 
dance for  the  dancers;  but  wine  was  not  produced.  With 
this  proviso,  Mr.  Hardy  had  no  objection  to  his  young 
people  having  their  dances  frequently;  and  in  a  country 
where  all  were  living  in  a  rough  way,  and  wine  was  an 
unknown  luxury,  no  one  missed  it.  In  other  respects  the 
supper  tables  might  have  been  admired  at  an  English  ball. 
Of  substantiate  there  was  abundance— turkeys  and  fowls, 
wild  duck  and  other  game.  The  sweets  were  represented 
by  trifle,  creams,  and  blanc-manges;  while  there  was  a 
superb  show  of  fruit— apricots,  peaches,  nectarines,  pine- 
apples, melons,  and  grapes.  Among  them  were  vases  of 
gorgeous  flowers,  most  of  them  tropical  in  character,  but 
with  them  were  many  old  English  friends,  of  which  Mr. 
Hardy  had  procured  seeds. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  199 

Their  neighbors  at  Canterbury  were  still  their  most 
intimate  friends:  they  were  shortly,  however,  to  lose  one 
of  them.  Mr.  Cooper  had  heard  six  months  before  of 
the  death  of  his  two  elder  brothers  in  rapid  succession, 
and  he  was  now  heir  to  his  father's  property,  which  was 
very  extensive.  It  had  been  supposed  that  he  would  at 
once  return  to  England,  and  he  was  continually  talking  of 
doing  so;  but  he  had,  under  one  excuse  or  other,  put  off 
his  departure  from  time  to  time.  He  was  very  frequently 
over  at  Mount  Pleasant  and  was  generally  a  companion 
of  the  boys  upon  their  excursions. 

"I  think  Cooper  is  almost  as  much  here  as  he  is  at  Can- 
terbury," Charley  said,  laughing,  one  day. 

Mrs.  Hardy  happened  to  glance  at  Maud,  and  noticed 
a  bright  flush  of  color  on  her  cheeks.  She  made  no  re- 
mark at  the  time,  but  spoke  to  Mr.  Hardy  about  it  at 
night. 

"You  see,  my  dear,"  she  concluded,  "we  are  still  con- 
sidering Maud  as  a  child,  but  other  people  may  look  upon 
her  as  a  woman." 

"I  am  sorry  for  this,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  after  a  pause. 
"We  ought  to  have  foreseen  the  possibility  of  such  a  thing. 
Now  that  it  is  mentioned,  I  wonder  we  did  not  do  so  be- 
fore. Mr.  Cooper  has  been  here  so  much  that  the  thing 
would  have  certainly  struck  us,  had  we  not,  as  you  say, 
looked  upon  Maud  as  a  child.  Against  Mr.  Cooper  I 
have  nothing  to  say.  We  both  like  him  extremely.  Hia 
principles  are  good,  and  he  would,  in  point  of  money,  be 
of  course  an  excellent  match  for  our  little  girl.  At  the 
same  time,  I  cannot  permit  anything  like  an  engagement. 
Mr.  Cooper  has  seen  no  other  ladies  for  so  long  a  time  that 
it  is  natural  enough  he  should  fall  in  love  with  Maud. 
Maud,  on  the  other  hand,  has  only  seen  the  fifteen  or 
twenty  men  who  came  here;  she  knows  nothing  of  the 
world  and  is  altogether  inexperienced.  They  are  both 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS, 

going  to  England,  and  may  not  improbably  meet  people 
whom  they  may  like  very  much  better,  and  may  look  upon 
this  love-making  in  the  pampas  as  a  folly.  At  the  end  of 
another  two  years,  when  Maud  is  nineteen,  if  Mr.  Cooper 
renew  the  acquaintance  in  England,  and  both  parties 
agree,  I  shall  of  course  offer  no  objection,  and  indeed 
should  rejoice  much  at  a  match  which  would  promise 
well  for  her  happiness." 

Mrs.  Hardy  thoroughly  agreed  with  her  husband,  and 
so  the  matter  rested  for  a  short  time. 

It  was  well  that  Mr.  Hardy  had  been  warned  by  his 
wife,  for  a  week  after  this  Mr.  Cooper  met  him  alone 
when  he  was  out  riding,  and  after  some  introduction, 
expressed  to  him  that  he  had  long  felt  that  he  had  loved 
his  daughter,  but  had  waited  until  she  was  seventeen 
before  expressing  his  wishes.  He  said  that  he  had 
delayed  his  departure  for  England  on  this  account  alone, 
and  now  asked  permission  to  pay  his  addresses  to 
her,  adding  that  he  hoped  that  he  was  not  altogether 
indifferent  to  her. 

Mr.  Hardy  heard  him  quietly  to  the  end. 

"I  can  hardly  say  that  I  am  unprepared  for  what  you 
say,  Mr.  Cooper,  although  I  had  never  thought  of  such  a 
thing  until  two  days  since.  Then  your  long  delay  here, 
and  your  frequent  visits  to  our  house,  opened  the  eyes  of 
Mrs.  Hardy  and  myself.  To  yourself,  personally,  I  can 
entertain  no  objection.  Still,  when  I  remember  that  you 
are  only  twenty-six,  and  that  for  the  last  four  years  you 
have  seen  no  one  with  whom  you  could  possibly  fall  in 
love,  with  the  exception  of  my  daughter,  I  can  hardly 
think  that  you  have  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  know 
your  own  mind.  When  you  return  to  England  you  will 
meet  young  ladies  very  much  prettier  and  very  much 
more  accomplished  than  my  Maud,  and  you  may  regret 
the  haste  which  led  you  to  form  an  engagement  out  here. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  201 

You  shake  your  head,  as  is  natural  that  you  should  do; 
but  I  repeat,  you  cannot  at  present  know  your  own  mind. 
If  this  is  true  of  you,  it  is  still  more  true  of  my  daughter. 
She  is  very  young,  and  knows  nothing  whatever  of  the 
world.  Next  month  she  proceeds  to  England  with  her 
mother,  and  for  the  next  two  years  she  will  be  engaged 
upon  finishing  her  education.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I 
shall  myself  return  to  England,  and  we  shall  then  enter 
into  society.  If  at  that  time  you  are  still  of  the  same  way 
of  thinking,  and  choose  to  renew  our  acquaintance,  I  shall 
be  very  happy,  in  the  event  of  Maud  accepting  you,  to 
give  my  consent.  But  I  must  insist  that  there  shall  be 
no  engagement,  no  love-making,  no  understanding  of  any 
sort  or  kind,  before  you  start.  I  put  it  to  your  honor  as 
a  gentleman,  that  you  will  make  no  effort  to  meet  her 
alone,  and  that  you  will  say  nothing  whatever  to  her,  to 
lead  her  to  believe  that  you  are  in  love  with  her.  Only 
when  you  say  good-by  to  her,  you  may  say  that  I  have 
told  you  that  as  the  next  two  years  are  to  be  passed  in 
study,  to  make  up  for  past  deficiencies,  I  do  not  wish  her 
to  enter  at  all  into  society,  but  that  at  the  end  of  that 
time  you  hope  to  renew  the  aquaintance.?J 

Mr.  Cooper  endeavored  in  vain  to  alter  Mr.  Hardy's  de- 
termination, and  was  at  last  obliged  to  give  the  required 
promise. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy  were  not  surprised  when,  two  or 
three  days  after  this,  Mr.  Cooper  rode  up  and  said  that 
he  had  come  to  say  good-by,  that  he  had  received  letters 
urging  him  to  return  at  once,  and  had  therefore  made  up 
his  mind  to  start  by  the  next  mail  from  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  young  Hardys  were  all  surprised  at  this  sudden 
determination,  but  there  was  little  time  to  discuss  it,  as- 
Mr.  Cooper  had  to  start  the  same  night  for  Eosario. 

Very  warm  and  earnest  were  the  adieus;  and  the  color^ 
which  had  rather  left  Maud's  face,  returned  with  re- 


ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

doubled  force  as  he  held  her  hand,  and  said  very  earnestly 
the  words  Mr.  Hardy  had  permitted  him  to  use. 

Then  he  leaped  into  his  saddle  and  galloped  off,  waving 
his  hand,  as  he  crossed  the  river,  to  the  group  which 
were  still  standing  in  the  veranda  watching  him. 

For  a  few  days  after  this  Maud  was  unusually  quiet 
and  subdued,  but  her  natural  spirits  speedily  recovered 
themselves,  and  she  was  soon  as  lively  and  gay  as  ever. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  departure  of  Mr.  Cooper 
an  event  took  place  which  for  awhile  threatened  to 
upset  all  the  plans  which  they  had  formed  for  the  future. 

One  or  other  of  the  girls  were  in  the  habit  of  fre- 
quently going  over  to  stay  for  a  day  or  two  with  Mrs. 
Mercer. 

One  evening  Hubert  rode  over  with  Ethel,  and  Mrs. 
Mercer  persuaded  the  latter  to  stay  for  the  night; 
Hubert  declining  to  do  so,  as  he  had  arranged  with 
Charley  to  go  over  early  to  Canterbury  to  assist  at  the 
branding  of  the  cattle  at  that  station. 

In  the  morning  they  had  taken  their  coffee,  and  were 
preparing  for  a  start,  when,  just  as  they  were  mounting 
their  horses,  one  of  the  men  drew  their  attention  to  a 
man  running  at  full  speed  toward  the  house  from  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Mercer's. 

"What  can  be  the  matter?"  Charley  said.  "What  a 
strange  thing  that  a  messenger  should  come  over  on  foot 
instead  of  on  horseback!" 

"Let's  ride  and  meet  him,  Charley,"  Hubert  said; 
and  putting  spurs  to  their  horses,  they  galloped  toward 
the  approaching  figure. 

As  they  came  close  to  him  he  stumbled  and  fell,  and 
lay  upon  the  ground,  exhausted  and  unable  to  rise. 

The  boys  sprang  from  their  horses  with  a  feeling  of 
vague  uneasiness  and  alarm. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  they  asked. 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS.  203 

i 

The  peon  was  too  exhausted  to  reply  for  a  moment  or 
two;  then  he  gasped  out,  "Los  Indies!  the  Indians!" 

The  boys  gave  a  simultaneous  cry  of  dread. 

"What  has  happened?  Tell  us  quick,  man;  are  they 
attacking  the  estancia?"  The  man  shook  his  head. 

"Estancia  burnt.     All  killed  but  me,"  he  said. 

The  news  was  too  sudden  and  terrible  for  the  boys  to 
speak.  They  stood  white  and  motionless  with  horror. 

"All  killed!    Oh,  Ethel,  Ethel!"  Charley  groaned. 

Hubert  burst  into  tears.     "What  will  mamma  do?" 

"Come,  Hubert,"  Charley  said,  dashing  away  the 
tears  from  his  eyes,  "do  not  let  us  waste  a  moment.  All 
hope  may  not  be  over.  The  Indians  seldom  kill  women, 
but  carry  them  away,  and  she  may  be  alive  yet.  If  she 
is,  we  will  rescue  her,  if  we  go  right  across  America. 
Come,  man,  jump  up  behind  me  on  my  horse." 

The  peon  obeyed  the  order,  and  in  five  minutes  they 
reached  the  gate.  Here  they  dismounted. 

"Let  us  walk  up  to  the  house,  Hubert,  so  as  not  to 
excite  suspicion.  We  must  call  papa  out  and  tell  him 
first,  so  that  he  may  break  it  to  mamma.  If  she  learn 
it  suddenly,  it  may  kill  her." 

Mr.  Hardy  had  just  taken  his  coffee,  and  was  stand- 
ing at  the  door,  looking  with  a  pleased  eye  upon  the 
signs  of  comfort  and  prosperity  around  him.  There  was 
no  need,  therefore,  for  them  to  approach  nearer.  As 
Mr.  Hardy  looked  round  upon  hearing  the  gate  shut, 
Charley  beckoned  to  him  to  come  down  to  them.  For  a 
moment  he  seemed  puzzled,  and  looked  round  to  see  if 
the  signal  was  directed  to  himself.  Seeing  that  no  one 
else  was  near  him,  he  again  looked  at  the  boys,  and 
Charley  earnestly  repeated  the  gesture. 

Mr.  Hardy,  feeling  that  something  strange  was  hap- 
pening, ran  down  the  steps  and  hurried  toward  them. 

By  the  time  he  reached  them,  he  had  no  need  to  ask 


204  OUT  OF  THE  PAMPAS. 

questions.  Hubert  was  leaning  upon  the  gate,  crying  as 
if  his  heart  would  break;  Charley  stood  with  his  hand  on 
his  lips,  as  if  to  check  the  sobs  from  breaking  out,  while 
the  tears  streamed  down  his  cheeks. 

"Ethel?"  Mr.  Hardy  asked. 

Charley  nodded,  and  then  said,  with  a  great  effort, 
"The  Indians  have  burned  the  estancia;  one  of  the  men 
has  escaped  and  brought  the  news.  We  know  nothing 
more.  Perhaps  she  is  carried  off,  not  killed." 

Mr.  Hardy  staggered  under  the  sudden  blow.  "Car- 
ried off  !"  he  murmured  to  himself.  "It  is  worse  than 
death." 

"Yes,  papa,"  Charley  said,  anxious  to  give  his  father's 
thoughts  a  new  turn.  "But  we  will  rescue  her,  if  she  is 
alive,  wherever  they  may  take  her." 

"We  will,  Charley;  we  will,  my  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said 
earnestly,  and  rousing  himself  at  the  thought.  "I  must 
go  up  and  break  it  to  your  mother;  though  how  I  shall 
do  so,  I  know  not.  Do  you  give  what  orders  you  like 
for  collecting  our  friends.  First,  though,  let  us  ques- 
tion this  man.  When  was  it?" 

"Last  night,  signor,  at  eleven  o'clock.  I  had  just 
lain  down  in  my  hut,  and  I  noticed  that  there  were  still 
lights  downstairs  at  the  house,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  I 
heard  a  yell  as  of  a  thousand  fiends,  and  I  knew  the 
Indians  were  upon  us.  I  knew  that  it  was  too  late  to 
fly,  but  I  threw  myself  out  of  the  window,  and  lay  flat 
by  the  wall,  as  the  Indians  burst  in.  There  were  eight 
of  us,  and  I  closed  my  ears  to  shut  out  the  sound  of  the 
others'  cries.  Up  at  the  house,  too,  I  could  hear 
screams  and  some  pistol  shots,  and  then  more  screams 
and  cries.  The  Indians  were  all  round,  everywhere,  and 
I  dreaded  lest  one  of  them  should  stumble  up  against 
me.  Then  a  sudden  glare  shot  up,  and  I  knew  they 
were  firing  the  house.  The  light  would  have  shown  me 


Pampas,  ETHEL'S  CAPTURE  BY  THE  INDIANS.— Page  204. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  205 

clearly  enough,  had  I  remained  where  I  was;  so  I 
crawled  on  my  stomach  till  I  came  to  some  potato 
ground  a  few  yards  off.  As  I  lay  between  the  rows,  the 
plants  covered  me  completely.  In  another  minute  or 
two  the  men's  huts  were  set  fire  to,  and  then  I  could 
hear  a  great  tramping,  as  of  horses  and  cattle  going 
away  in  the  distance.  They  had  not  all  gone,  for  I 
could  hear  voices  all  night,  and  Indians  were  moving 
about  everywhere,  in  search  of  any  one  who  might  have 
escaped.  They  came  close  to  me  several  times,  and  I 
feared  that  they  would  tread  on  me.  After  a  time  all 
became  quiet;  but  I  dared  not  move  till  daylight. 
Then,  looking  about  carefully,  I  could  see  no  one,  and 
I  jumped  up,  and  never  stopped  running  until  you  met 
me." 

Mr.  Hardy  now  went  up  to  the  house  to  break  the  sad 
tidings  to  his  wife.  Charley  ordered  eight  peons  to  sad- 
dle horses  instantly,  and  while  they  were  doing  so  he 
wrote  on  eight  leaves  of  his  pocketbook:  "The  Mercers' 
house  destroyed  last  night  by  Indians;  the  Mercers  killed 
or  carried  off.  My  sister  Ethel  with  them.  For  God's 
sake,  join  us  to  recover  them.  Meet  at  Mercer's  as  soon 
as  possible.  Send  this  note  round  to  all  neighbors." 

One  of  these  slips  of  paper  was  given  to  each  peon, 
and  they  were  told  to  ride  for  their  lives  in  different 
directions,  for  that  Miss  Ethel  was  carried  off  by  the 
Indians. 

This  was  the  first  intimation  of  the  tidings  that  had 
arrived,  and  a  perfect  choras  of  lamentation  arose  from 
the  women,  and  of  execrations  of  rage  from  the  men. 
Just  at  this  moment  Terence  came  running  down  from 
the  house.  "Is  it  true,  Mister  Charles?  Sarah  says 
that  the  mistress  and  Miss  Maud  are  gone  quite  out  of 
their  minds,  and  that  Miss  Ethel  has  been  killed  by  the 
Indians!" 


206  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"Killed  or  carried  away,  Terence;  we  do  not  know 
-which,  yet." 

Terence  was  a  warm-hearted  fellow,  and  he  set  up  a 
yell  of  lamentation  which  drowned  the  sobs  and  curses 
of  the  natives. 

"Hush,  Terence,"  Charley  said.  "We  shall  have  time 
to  cry  for  her  afterward;  we  must  be  doing  now." 

"I  will,  Mister  Charles;  but  you  will  let  me  go  with 
you  to  search  for  her.  Won't  you,  now,  Mister  Charles?" 

"Yes,  Terence;  I  will  take  you  with  us,  and  leave 
Lopez  in  charge.  Send  him  here." 

Lopez  was  close.  He,  too,  was  really  affected  at  the 
loss  of  his  young  mistress;  for  Ethel,  by  her  unvarying 
sweetness  of  temper,  was  a  favorite  with  every  one. 

"Lopez,  you  will  remain  here  in  charge.  We  may  be 
away  two  days — we  may  be  away  twenty.  I  know  I  can 
trust  you  to  look  after  the  place  just  as  if  we  were  here." 

The  capitaz  bowed  with  his  hand  on  his  heart.  Even 
the  peasants  of  South  America  preserve  the  grand  man- 
ner and  graceful  carriage  of  their  Spanish  ancestors. 
"And  now,  Lopez,  do  you  know  of  any  of  the  Guachos 
in  this  part  of  the  country  who  have  ever  lived  with  the 
Indians,  and  know  their  country  at  all?" 

"Martinez,  one  of  the  shepherds  at  Canterbury,  Signor 
Charles,  was  with  them  for  seven  months;  and  Perez, 
one  of  Signor  Jamieson's  men,  was  longer  still." 

Charles  at  once  wrote  notes  asking  that  Perez  and 
Martinez  might  accompany  the  expedition,  and  dis- 
patched them  by  mounted  peons. 

"And  now,  Lopez,  what  amount  of  charqm  have  we 
in  store?" 

"A  good  stock,  signor;  enough  for  fifty  men  for  a 
fortnight." 

Charqui  is  meat  dried  in  the  sun.  In  hot  climates 
meat  cannot  be  kept  for  many  hours  in  its  natural  state. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  20? 

"When  a  bullock  is  killed,  therefore,  all  the  meat  which  is 
not  required  for  immediate  use  is  cut  up  into  thin  strips, 
and  hung  up  in  the  sun  to  dry.  After  this  process  it  is 
hard  and  strong,  and  by  no  means  palatable;  but  it  will 
keep  for  many  months,  and  is  the  general  food  of  the 
people.  In  large  establishments  it  is  usual  to  kill  sev- 
eral animals  at  once,  so  as  to  lay  in  sufficient  store  of 
charqui  to  last  for  some  time. 

"Terence,  go  up  to  the  house  and  see  what  biscuit 
there  is.  Lopez,  get  our  horses  saddled,  and  one  for 
Terence — a  good  one — and  give  them  a  feed  of  maize. 
Now,  Hubert,  let  us  go  up  to  the  house,  and  get  our 
carbines  and  pistols." 

Mr.  Hardy  came  out  to  meet  them  as  they  approached. 
"How  are  mamma  and  Maud,  papa?" 

"More  quiet  and  composed  now,  boys.  They  have 
both  gone  to  lie  down.  Maud  wanted  sadly  to  go  with 
us,  but  she  gave  way  directly  I  pointed  out  to  her  that 
her  duty  was  to  remain  here  by  her  mother's  side.  And 
now,  Charley,  what  arrangements  have  you  made?" 

Charley  told  his  father  what  he  had  done. 

"That  is  right.  And  now  we  will  be  off  at  once. 
Give  Terence  orders  to  bring  on  the  meat  and  biscuit 
in  an  hour's  time.  Let  him  load  a  couple  of  horses, 
and  bring  a  man  with  him  to  bring  them  back." 

"Shall  we  bring  any  rockets,  papa?" 

"It  is  not  likely  that  they  will  be  of  any  use,  Hubert; 
but  we  may  as  well  take  three  or  four  of  each  sort.  Koll 
up  a  poncho,  boys,  and  fasten  it  on  your  saddles.  Put 
plenty  of  ammunition  in  your  bags;  see  your  brandy 
flasks  are  full,  and  put  out  half  a  dozen  bottles  to  go 
with  Terence.  There  are  six  pounds  of  tobacco  in  the 
storeroom;  let  him  bring  them  all.  Hubert,  take  our 
water-skins;  and  look  in  the  storeroom — there  are  three 
or  four  spare  skins;  give  them  to  Terence,  some  of  our 


208  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

friends  may  not  have  thought  of  bringing  theirs,  and  the 
country  may,  for  aught  we  know,  be  badly  watered. 
And  tell  him  to  bring  a  dozen  colored  blankets  with 
him." 

In  a  few  minutes  all  these  things  were  attended  to, 
and  then,  just  as  they  were  going  out  of  the  house, 
Sarah  came  up,  her  face  swollen  with  crying. 

"Won't  you  take  a  cup  of  tea  and  just  something  to 
eat,  sir?  You've  had  nothing  yet,  and  you  will  want  it. 
It  is  all  ready  in  the  dining-room." 

' ' Thank  you,  Sarah.  You  are  right.  Come,  boys,  try 
and  make  a  good  breakfast.  We  must  keep  up  our 
hearts,  you  know,  and  we  will  bring  our  little  woman 
back  ere  long." 

Mr.  Hardy  spoke  more  cheerfully,  and  the  boys  soon, 
too,  felt  their  spirits  rising  a  little.  The  bustle  of  mak- 
ing preparations,  the  prospect  of  the  perilous  adventure 
before  them,  and  the  thought  that  they  should  assuredly, 
sooner  or  later,  come  up  with  the  Indians,  all  combined 
to  give  them  hope.  Mr.  Hardy  had  little  fear  of  finding 
the  body  of  his  child  under  the  ruins  of  the  Mercers' 
house.  The  Indians  never  deliberately  kill  white 
women,  always  carrying  them  off;  and  Mr.  Hardy  felt 
confident  that,  unless  Ethel  had  been  accidentally  killed 
in  the  assault,  this  was  the  fate  which  had  befallen  her. 

A  hasty  meal  was  swallowed,  and  then,  just  as  they 
were  starting,  Mrs.  Hardy  and  Maud  came  out  to  say 
"Good-by,"  and  an  affecting  scene  occurred.  Mr. 
Hardy  and  the  boys  kept  up  as  well  as  they  could,  in 
order  to  inspire  the  mother  and  sister  with  hope  during 
their  absence,  and  with  many  promises  to  bring  their 
missing  one  back  they  galloped  off. 

They  were  scarcely  out  of  the  gate,  when  thay  saw 
their  two  friends  from  Canterbury  coming  along  at  full 
gallop.  Both  were  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  evidently 


OUT  ON  TH3  PAMPAS.  209 

prepared  for  an  expedition.  They  wrung  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons. 

"We  ordered  our  horses  the  moment  we  got  your  note, 
and  ate  our  breakfasts  as  they  were  being  got  ready. 
We  made  a  lot  of  copies  of  your  note,  and  sent  off  half  a 
dozen  men  in  various  directions  with  them.  Then  we 
came  on  at  once.  Of  course  most  of  the  others  cannot 
arrive  for  some  time  yefc,  but  we  were  too  anxious  to  hear 
all  about  it  to  delay,  and  we  thought  that  we  [might 
catch  you  before  you  started,  to  aid  you  in  your  first 
search.  Have  you  any  more  certain  news  than  you  sent 
us?" 

"None,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  and  then  repeated  the  rela- 
tion of  the  survivor. 

There  was  a  pause  when  he  had  finished,  and  then  Mr. 
Herries  said: 

"Well,  Mr.  Hardy,  I  need  not  tell  you,  if  our  dear 
little  Ethel  is  alive,  we  will  follow  you  till  we  find  her,  if 
we  are  a  year  about  it." 

"Thanks,  thanks,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  earnestly.  "I 
feel  a  conviction  that  we  shall  yet  recover  her." 

During  this  conversation  they  had  been  galloping 
rapidly  toward  the  scene  of  the  catastrophe,  and,  ab- 
sorbed in  their  thoughts,  not  another  word  was  spoken 
until  they  gained  the  first  rise,  from  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  see  the  pleasant  house  of  the  Mer- 
cers. An  exclamation  of  rage  and  sorrow  burst  from 
them  all,  as  only  a  portion  of  the  chimney  and  a  charred 
post  or  two  showed  where  it  had  stood.  The  huts  of  the 
peona  had  also  disappeared;  the  young  trees  and  shrubs 
round  the  house  were  scorched  up  and  burned  by  the  heat 
to  which  they  had  been  exposed,  or  had  been  broken  off 
from  the  spirit  of  wanton  mischief. 

With  clinched  teeth,  and  faces  pale  with  rage  and 
anxiety,  the  party  rode  on  past  the  site  of  the  huts, 


210  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

scattered  round  which  were  the  bodies  of  several  of  the 
murdered  peons.  They  halted  not  until  they  drew  rein, 
and  leaped  off  in  front  of  the  house  itself. 

It  had  been  built  entirely  of  wood,  and  only  the 
stumps  of  the  corner  posts  remained  erect.  The  sun 
had  so  thoroughly  dried  the  boards  of  which  it  was  con- 
structed that  it  had  burned  like  so  much  tinder,  and  the 
quantity  of  ashes  that  remained  was  very  small.  Here 
and  there,  however,  were  uneven  heaps;  and  in  perfect 
silence,  but  with  a  sensation  of  overpowering  dread,  Mr. 
Hardy  and  his  friends  tied  up  their  horses,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  examine  these  heaps,  to  see  if  they  were 
formed  by  the  remains  of  human  beings. 

Very  carefully  they  turned  them  over,  and  as  they  did 
go  their  knowledge  of  the  arrangements  of  the  different 
rooms  helped  them  to  identify  the  various  articles.  Here 
was  a  bed,  there  a  box  of  closely-packed  linen,  of  which 
only  the  outer  part  was  burned,  the  interior  bursting  into 
flames  as  they  turned  it  over;  here  was  the  storeroom, 
with  its  heaps  of  half-burned  flour  where  the  sacks  had 
stood. 

In  half  an  hour  they  were  able  to  say  with  tolerable 
certainty  that  no  human  beings  had  been  burned,  for  the 
bodies  could  not  have  been  wholly  consumed  in  such  a 
speedy  conflagration. 

"Perhaps  they  have  all  been  taken  prisoners,"  Hubert 
suggested,  as  with  a  sigh  of  relief  they  concluded  their 
search,  and  turned  from  the  spot. 

Mr.  Hardy  shook  his  head.  He  was  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  habits  of  the  Indians  to  think  such  a 
thing  possible.  Just  at  this  moment  Dash,  who  had 
followed  them  unnoticed  during  their  ride,  and  who  had 
been  ranging  about  uneasily  while  they  had  been  occu- 
pied by  the  search,  set  up  a  piteous  howling.  All  started 
and  looked  round.  The  dog  was  standing  by  the  edge 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

of  the  ditch  which  had  been  dug  outside  the  fence*  His 
head  was  raised  high  in  air,  and  he  was  giving  vent  to 
prolonged  and  mournful  howls. 

All  felt  that  the  terrible  secret  was  there.  The  boys 
turned  ghastly  pale,  and  they  felt  that  not  for  worlds 
could  they  approach  to  examine  the  dreadful  mystery. 

Mr.  Hardy  was  almost  as  much  affected. 

Mr.  Herries  looked  at  his  friend,  and  then  said  gravely 
to  Mr.  Hardy,  "Do  you  wait  here,  Mr.  Hardy;  we  will 
go  on." 

As  the  friends  left  them  the  boys  turned  away,  and 
leaning  against  their  horses,  covered  their  eyes  with 
their  hands.  They  dared  not  look  round.  Mr.  Hardy 
stood  still  for  a  minute,  but  the  agony  of  suspense  was 
too  great  for  him.  He  started  off  at  a  run,  came  up  to 
his  friends,  and  with  them  hurried  on  to  the  fence. 

Not  as  yet  could  they  see  into  the  ditch.  At  ordinary 
times  the  fence  would  have  been  an  awkward  place  to 
climb  over;  now  they  hardly  knew  how  they  scrambled 
over,  and  stood  by  the  side  of  the  ditch.  They  looked 
down,  and  Mr.  Hardy  gave  a  short,  gasping  cry,  and 
caught  at  the  fence  for  support. 

Huddled  together  in  the  (Jitch  was  a  pile  of  dead 
bodies,  and  among  them  peeped  out  a  piece  of  a  female 
dress.  Anxious  to  relieve  their  friend's  agonizing  sus- 
pense, the  young  men  leaped  down  into  the  ditch,  and 
began  removing  the  upper  bodies  from  the  ghastly  pile. 

First  were  the  two  men  employed  in  the  house;  then 
came  Mr.  Mercer;  then  the  two  children  and  an  old 
woman-servant;  below  them  were  the  bodies  of  Mrs. 
Mercer  and  her  brother.  There  were  no  more.  Ethel 
was  not  among  them. 

When  first  he  had  heard  of  the  massacre  Mr.  Hardy 
had  said,  "Better  dead  than  carried  off,"  but  the  relief 
to  his  feelings  was  so  great  as  the  last  body  was  turned 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

over,  and  that  it  was  evident  that  the  child  was  not 
there,  that  he  would  have  fallen  had  not  Mr.  Herries 
hastened  to  climh  up  and  support  him,  at  the  same  time 
crying  out  to  the  boys,  "She  is  not  here." 

Charley  and  Hubert  turned  toward  each  other,  and 
burst  into  tears  of  thankfulness  and  joy.  The  suspense 
had  been  almost  too  much  for  them,  and  Hubert  felt  so 
eick  and  faint  that  he  was  forced  to  lie  down  for  awhile, 
while  Charley  went  forward  to  the  others.  He  was  terri- 
bly shocked  at  the  discovery  of  the  murder  of  the  entire 
party,  as  they  had  cherished  the  hope  that  Mrs.  Mercer 
at  least  would  have  been  carried  off.  As,  however,  she 
had  been  murdered,  while  it  was  pretty  evident  that 
Ethel  had  been  spared,  or  her  body  would  have  been 
found  with  the  others,  it  was  supposed  that  poor  Mrs. 
Mercer  had  been  shot  accidentally,  perhaps  in  the  en- 
deavor to  save  her  children. 

The  bodies  were  now  taken  from  the  ditch,  and  laid 
side  by  side  until  the  other  settlers  should  arrive.  It 
was  not  long  before  they  began  to  assemble,  riding  up  in 
little  groups  of  twos  and  threes.  Rage  and  indignation 
were  upon  all  their  faces  at  the  sight  of  the  devastated 
house,  and  their  feelings  were  redoubled  when  they 
found  that  the  whole  of  the  family,  who  were  so  justly 
liked  and  esteemed,  were  dead.  The  Edwards  and  the 
Jamiesons  were  among  the  earliest  arrivals,  bringing  the 
Guacho  Martinez  with  them.  Perez,  too,  shortly  after 
arrived  from  Canterbury,  he  having  been  out  on  the 
farm  when  his  master  left. 

Although  all  these  events  have  taken  some  time  to 
relate,  it  was  still  early  in  the  day.  The  news  had 
arrived  at  six,  and  the  messengers  were  sent  off  half  an 
hour  later.  The  Hardys  had  set  out  before  eight,  and 
had  reached  the  scene  of  the  catastrophe  in  half  an  hour. 
It  was  nine  o'clock  when  the  bodies  were  found,  and  half 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  213 

an  hour  after  this  friends  began  to  assemble.  By  ten 
o'clock  a  dozen  more  had  arrived,  and  several  more 
could  be  seen  in  the  distance  coming  along  at  full  gallop 
to  the  spot. 

"I  think,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "that  we  had  better  em- 
ploy ourselves,  until  the  others  arrive,  in  burying  the 
remains  of  our  poor  friends." 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  assent,  and  all  sepa- 
rated to  look  for  tools.  Two  or  three  spades  were  found 
thrown  down  in  the  garden,  where  a  party  had  been  at 
work  the  other  day.  And  then  all  looked  to  Mr-  Hardy. ; 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "we  cannot  do  better  than  lay 
them  where  their  house  stood.  The  place  will  never  be 
the  site  of  another  habitation.  Any  one  who  may  buy 
the  property  would  choose  another  place  for  his  house 
than  th«  scene  of  this  awful  tragedy.  The  gate  once 
locked,  the  fence  will  keep  out  animals  for  very  many 
years." 

A  grave  was  accordingly  dug  in  the  center  of  the  space 
once  occupied  by  the  house.  In  this  the  bodies  of  Mr. 
Mercer  and  his  family  were  laid.  And  Mr. Hardy  having 
solemnly  pronounced  such  parts  of  the  burial  service  as 
he  remembered  over  them,  all  standing  by  bareheaded, 
and  stern  with  suppressed  sorrow,  the  earth  was  filled  in 
over  the  spot  where  a  father,  mother,  brother,  and  two 
children  lay  together.  Another  grave  was  at  the  same 
time  dug  near,  and  in  this  the  bodies  of  the  three  servants 
whose  remains  had  been  found  with  the  others  were  laid. 

By  this  time  it  was  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  number  of 
those  present  had  reached  twenty.  The  greater  portion 
of  them  were  English,  but  there  were  also  three  Ger- 
mans, a  Frenchman,  and  four  Guachos,  all  accustomed 
to  Indian  warfare. 

"How  long  do  you  think  it  will  be  before  all  who  in- 
tend to  come  can  join  us?"  Mr.  Hardy  asked  , 


214  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

There  was  a  pause;  then  one  of  the  Jamiesons  said: 

"Judging  by  the  time  your  message  reached  us,  you 
must  have  set  off  before  seven.  Most  of  us,  on  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  message,  forwarded  it  by  fresh  messengers 
on  further;  but  of  course  some  delay  occurred  in  so 
doing,  especially  as  many  of  us  may  probably  have  been 
out  on  the  plains  when  the  message  arrived.  The 
persons  to  whom  we  sent  might  also  have  been  out. 
Our  friends  who  would  be  likely  to  obey  the  summons  at 
once  all  live  within  fifteen  miles  or  so.  That  makes 
thirty  miles,  going  and  returning.  Allowing  for  the  loss 
of  time  I  have  mentioned,  we  should  allow  five  hours. 
That  would  bring  it  on  to  twelve  o'clock." 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  assent. 

"In  that  case,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "I  propose  that  we 
eat  a  meal  as  hearty  as  we  can  before  starting.  Charley, 
tell  Terence  to  bring  the  horses  with  the  provisions 
here." 

The  animals  were  now  brought  up,  and  Mr.  Hardy 
found  that,  in  addition  to  the  charqui  and  biscuit,  Mrs. 
Hardy  had  sent  a  large  supply  of  cold  meat  which  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  larder,  some  bread,  a  large  stock  of 
tea  and  sugar,  a  kettle,  and  some  tin  mugs. 

The  cold  meat  and  bread  afforded  an  ample  meal, 
which  was  much  needed  by  those  who  had  come  away 
without  breakfast. 

By  twelve  o'clock  six  more  had  arrived,  the  last  comer 
being  Mr.  Percy.  Each  newcomer  was  filled  with  rage 
and  horror  upon  hearing  of  the  awful  tragedy  which  had 
been  enacted. 

At  twelve  o'clock  exactly  Mr.  Hardy  rose  to  his  feet. 
"My  friends,"  he  said,  "I  thank  you  all  for  so  promptly- 
answering  to  my  summons.  I  need  say  no  words  to 
excite  your  indignation  at  the  massacre  that  has  taken 
place  here.  You  know,  too,  that  my  child  has  been  car- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

ried  away.  I  intend,  with  my  sons  and  my  friends  from 
Canterbury,  going  in  search  of  her  into  the  Indian  coun- 
try. My  first  object  is  to  secure  her,  my  second  to 
avenge  my  murdered  friends.  A  heavy  lesson,  too, 
given  the  Indians  in  their  own  country,  will  teach  them 
that  they  cannot  with  impunity  commit  their  depreda- 
tions upon  us.  Unless  such  a  lesson  is  given,  a  life  on 
the  plains  will  become  so  dangerous  that  we  must  give  up 
our  settlements.  At  the  same  time,  I  do  not  conceal 
from  you  that  the  expedition  is  a  most  dangerous  one. 
We  are  entering  a  country  of  which  we  know  nothing. 
The  Indians  are  extremely  numerous,  and  are  daily 
becoming  better  armed.  The  time  we  may  be  away  is 
altogether  vague;  for  if  it  is  a  year  I  do  not  return  until 
I  have  found  my  child.  I  know  that  there  is  not  a  man 
here  who  would  not  gladly  help  to  rescue  Ethel — not 
one  who  does  not  long  to  avenge  our  murdered  friends. 
At  the  same  time,  some  of  you  have  ties,  wives  and 
children,  whom  you  may  not  consider  yourselves  justi- 
fied in  leaving,  even  upon  an  occasion  like  this.  Some 
of  you,  I  know,  will  accompany  me;  but  if  any  one  feels 
any  doubts,  from  the  reasons  I  have  stated — if  any  one 
considers  that  he  has  no  right  to  run  this  tremendous 
risk — let  him  say  so  at  once,  and  I  shall  respect  his  feel- 
ings, and  my  friendship  and  good-will  will  in  no  way  be 
diminished." 

As  Mr.  Hardy  ceased,  his  eye  wandered  round  the 
circle  of  stalwart-looking  figures  around  him,  and  rested 
upon  the  Jamiesons.  No  one  answered  for  a  moment, 
and  then  the  elder  of  the  brothers  spoke: 

"Mr.  Hardy,  it  was  right  and  kind  of  you  to  say  that 
any  who  might  elect  to  stay  behind  would  not  forfeit  your 
respect  and  esteem,  but  I  for  one  say  that  he  would  de- 
servedly forfeit  his  own.  We  have  all  known  and 
esteemed  the  Mercers.  We  have  all  known,  and  I  may 


216  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

say,  loved  you  and  your  family.  From  you  we  have  one 
and  all  received  very  great  kindness  and  the  warmest 
hospitality.  We  all  know  and  love  the  dear  child  who 
has  been  carried  away;  and  I  say  that  he  who  stays  be- 
hind is  unworthy  of  the  name  of  a  man.  For  myself 
and  brother,  I  say  that  if  we  fall  in  this  expedition 
— if  we  never  set  eyes  upon  our  wives  again — we  shall  die 
satisfied  that  we  have  only  done  our  duty.  We  are  with 
you  to  the  death." 

A  loud  and  general  cheer  broke  from  the  whole  party 
as  the  usually  quiet  Scotchman  thus  energetically  ex- 
pressed himself.  And  each  man  in  turn  came  up  to  Mr. 
Hardy  and  grasped  his  hand,  saying,  "Yours  till  death." 

Mr.  Hardy  was  too  much  affected  to  reply  for  a  short 
time;  then  he  briefly  but  heartily  expressed  his  thanks. 
After  which  he  went  on:  "Now  to  business.  I  have 
here  about  three  hundred  pounds  of  charqui.  Let  every 
man  take  ten  pounds,  as  nearly  as  he  can  guess.  There 
are  also  two  pounds  of  biscuit  a  man.  The  tea,  sugar, 
and  tobacco,  the  kettle,  and  eighty  pounds  of  meat,  I 
will  put  on  to  a  spare  horse,  which  Terence  will  lead. 
If  it  is  well  packed,  the  animal  will  be  able  to  travel  as 
quickly  as  we  can." 

There  was  a  general  muster  round  the  provisions. 
Each  man  took  his  allotted  share.  The  remainder  was 
packed  in  two  bundles,  and  secured  firmly  upon  either 
side  of  the  spare  horse;  the  tobacco,  sugar,  and  tea  being 
enveloped  in  a  hide,  and  placed  securely  between  them, 
and  the  kettle  placed  at  the  top  of  all.  Then,  mount- 
ing their  horses,  the  troop  sallied  out;  and,  as  Mr. 
Hardy  watched  them  start,  he  felt  that  in  fair  fight  by 
day  they  could  hold  their  own  against^  ten  times  their 
number  of  Indians, 

Each  man,  with  the  exception  of  the  young  Hardys, 
who  had  their  Colt's  carbines,  had  a  long  rifle;  in  addi- 


OV1  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

tion  to  which  all  had  pistols — most  of  them  having 
revolvers,  the  use  of  which,  since  the  Hardys  had  first 
tried  them  with  such  deadly  effect  upon  the  pampas, 
had  become  very  general  among  the  English  settlers. 
Nearly  all  were  young,  with  the  deep  sunburned  hue 
gained  by  exposure  on  the  plains.  Every  man  had  his 
poncho— a  sort  of  native  blanket,  used  either  as  a  cloak 
or  for  sleeping  in  at  will — rolled  up  before  him  on  his 
saddle.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  a  more  serv- 
iceable-looking set  of  men;  and  the  expression  of  their 
laces,  03  they  took  their  last  look  at  the  grave  of  the 
Mercers,  boded  very  ill  for  any  Indian  who  might  fall 
i&to  their  clutches* 


218  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   PAMPAS  ON   FIRE. 

THE  party  started  at  a  canter — the  pace  which  they 
knew  their  horses  would  be  able  to  keep  up  for  the 
longest  time — breaking  every  half-hour  or  so  into  a  walk 
for  ten  minutes,  to  give  them  breathing  time.  All  were 
well  mounted  on  strong,  serviceable  animals;  but  these  . 
had  not  in  all  cases  been  bought  specially  for  speed,  as 
had  those  of  the  Hardys.  It  was  evident  that  the  chase 
would  be  a  long  one.  The  Indians  had  twelve  hours' 
start;  they  were  much  lighter  men  than  the  whites,  and 
carried  less  additional  weight.  Their  horses,  therefore, 
could  travel  as  fast  and  as  far  as  those  of  their  pursuers. 
The  sheep  would,  it  is  true,  be  an  incumbrance;  the 
cattle  could  scarcely  be  termed  so;  and  it  was  probable 
that  the  fist  day  they  would  make  a  journey  of  fifty  or 
sixty  miles,  traveling  at  a  moderate  pace  only,  as  they 
would  know  that  no  instant  pursuit  could  take  place. 
Indeed  their  strength,  which  the  peon  had  estimated  at 
five  hundred  men,  would  render  them  to  a  certain  extent 
careless,  as  upon  an  open  plain  the  charge  of  this  num- 
ber of  men  would  sweep  away  any  force  which  could  be 
collected  short  of  obtaining  a  strong  body  of  troops  from 
Eosario. 

For  the  next  two  days  it  was  probable  that  they  would 
make  as  long  and  speedy  journeys  as  the  animals  could 
accomplish.  After  that,  being  well  in  their  own  coun- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

try,  they  would  cease  to  travel  rapidly,  as  no  pursuit  had 
ever  been  attempted  in  former  instances. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  following  the  track.  Mr. 
Mercer  had  possessed  nearly  a  thousand  cattle  and  five 
thousand  sheep,  and  the  ground  was  trampled  in  a  broad, 
unmistakable  line.  Once  or  twice  Mr.  Hardy  consulted 
his  compass.  The  trail  ran  southwest  by  west. 

There  was  not  much  talking.  The  whole  party  were 
too  impressed  with  the  terrible  scene  they  had  wit- 
nessed, and  the  tremendously  hazardous  nature  of  the 
enterprise  they  had  undertaken,  to  indulge  in  general 
conversation.  Gradually,  however,  the  steady,  rapid 
motion,  the  sense  of  strength  and  reliance  in  themselves 
and  each  other,  lessened  the  somber  expression,  and  a 
general  talk  began,  mostly  upon  Indian  fights,  in  which 
most  of  the  older  settlers  had  at  one  time  or  other  taken 
a  part. 

Mr.  Hardy  took  a  part  in  and  encouraged  this  conver- 
sation. He  knew  how  necessary,  in  an  expedition  of 
this  sort,  it  was  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  all  engaged; 
and  he  endeavored,  therefore,  to  shake  off  his  own  heavy 
weight  of  care,  and  to  give  animation  and  life  to  them 
all. 

The  spirits  of  the  younger  men  rose  rapidly,  and  in- 
sensibly the  pace  was  increased,  until  Mr.  Hardy,  as 
leader  of  the  party,  was  compelled  to  recall  to  them  the 
necessity  of  saving  their  animals,  many  of  which  had 
already  come  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  before  arriving  at 
the  rendezvous  at  the  Mercers'. 

After  three  hours'  steady  riding  they  arrived  at  the 
banks  of  a  small  stream.  There  Mr.  Hardy  called  a  halt, 
for  the  purpose  of  resting  the  animals. 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "that  we  must  have  done  twenty- 
five  miles.  We  will  give  them  an  hour's  rest,  and  then 
do  another  fifteen.  Some  of  them  have  already  done 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS, 

forty,  and  it  will  not  do  to  knock  them  up  the  first 
day." 

Girths  were  loosened,  and  the  horses  were  at  work 
cropping  the  sweet  grass  near  the  water's  edge.  The 
whole  party  threw  themselves  down  on  a  sloping  bank, 
pipes  were  taken  out  and  lit,  and  the  probable  direction 
of  the  chase  discussed. 

In  a  short  time  Charley  rose,  and  saying,  "I  will  see 
if  I  can  get  anything  better  than  dried  meat  for  supper/' 
exchanged  his  rifle  for  Mr.  Hardy's  double-barreled  gun, 
•which  was  carried  by  Terence,  and  whistling  for  the 
jetriever,  strolled  on*  up  the  stream.  In  ten  minutes  the 
double-barrels  were  heard  at  a  short  distance,  and  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  afterward  again,  but  this  time  faintly. 
Ten  minutes  before  the  hour  was  up  he  appeared,  wip- 
ing the  perspiration  from  his  face,  with  seven  and  a  half 
brace  of  plump  duck. 

"They  were  all  killed  in  four  shots,"  he  said,  as  he 
threw  them  down.  "They  were  asleep  in  the  pools,  and 
I  let  fly  right  into  the  middle  of  them  before  they  heard 
me/' 

There  was  a  general  feeling  of  satisfaction  at  the  sight 
of  the  birds,  which  were  tied  in  couples,  and  fastened  oa 
the  horses. 

In  two  minutes  more  they  were  again  in  the  saddles, 
Hubert  saying  to  his  father  as  they  started,  "There  ia 
one  satisfaction,  papa,  we  can't  miss  the  way.  We  have 
only  to  ride  far  enough,  and  we  must  overtake  them." 

Mr.  Hardy  shook  his  head.  He  knew  enough  of 
Indian  warfare  to  be  certain  that  every  artifice  and 
maneuver  would  have  to  be  looked  for  and  baffled;  for 
even  when  believing  themselves  safe  from  pursuit, 
Indians  never  neglect  to  take  every  possible  precaution 
against  it. 

After  riding  for  two  hours  longer  Mr.  Hardy  con- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  221 

suited  the  Guachos  if  there  were  any  stream  near,  but 
they  said  that  it  would  be  at  least  two  hours'  riding  be- 
fore they  reached  another,  and  that  that  was  a  very  un- 
certain supply.  Mr.  Hardy  therefore  decided  to  halt  at 
once,  as  the  men  knew  this  part  of  the  plain  thoroughly, 
from  hunting  ostriches  on  it,  and  from  frequent  expedi- 
tions in  search  of  strayed  cattle.  They  had  all  lived 
and  hunted  at  one  time  or  another  with  the  Indians. 
Many  of  the  Gauchos  take  up  their  abode  permanently 
with  the  Indians,  being  adopted  as  members  of  the  tribe, 
and  living  and  dressing  like  the  Indians  themselves. 
These  visits  are  generally  undertaken  to  avoid  the  con- 
sequences of  some  little  difficulty — a  man  killed  in  a 
gambling  quarrel,  or  for  rivalry  in  love.  Sometimes 
they  make  their  peace  again,  satisfy  the  blood- relations 
with  a  bull,  secure  absolution  readily  enough  by  confes- 
sion and  a  gift  of  a  small  sum  to  the  Church,  and 
return  to  their  former  life;  but  as  often  as  not  they 
remain  witL  the  Indians,  and  even  attain  to  the  rank  of 
noted  chiefs  among  them. 

The  men  who  accompanied  the  expedition  were  all  of 
the  former  class.  All  had  taken  to  the  pampas  to 
escape  the  consequences  of  some  crime  or  other,  but  had 
grown  perfectly  sick  of  it,  and  had  returned  to  civilized 
life.  In  point  of  morals  they  were  not,  perhaps,  desira- 
ble companions;  but  they  were  all  brave  enough,  thor- 
oughly knew  the  country  further  inland,  and,  if  not 
enthusiastic  in  the  adventure,  were  yet  willing  enough 
to  follow  their  respective  masters,  and  ready  to  fight  for 
their  lives  upon  occasion. 

Just  as  they  halted  Mr.  Herries  thought  that  he 
caught  sight  of  some  deer  a  short  way  ahead.  He  there- 
fore started  at  once  for  a  stalk,  several  of  the  others 
going  off  in  other  directions.  Mr.  Herries  proceeded 
very  cautiously,  and  the  wind  being  fortunately  toward 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

him,  he  was  enabled  to  creep  up  tolerably  close.  Tha 
animals,  which  are  extremely  shy,  had,  however,  an  idea 
that  danger  was  about  before  he  could  get  within  a  fair 
shot.  As  he  knew  that  they  would  be  off  in  another 
instant,  he  at  once  practiced  a  trick  which  he  had  often 
found  to  be  successful. 

He  threw  himself  on  his  back,  pulled  a  red  handker- 
chief from  his  neck,  tied  it  to  one  of  his  boots  so  as  to 
let  it  float  freely  in  the  air,  and  then  threw  up  both  legs 
in  the  form  of  a  letter  V.  Then  he  began  moving  them 
slowly  about,  waving  them  to  and  fro.  The  deer,  which 
were  upon  the  point  of  flight,  paused  to  gaze  at  this 
strange  object;  then  they  began  to  move  in  a  circle, 
their  looks  still  directed  at  this  unknown  thing,  to 
which  they  gradually  kept  approaching  as  they  moved 
round  it.  At  last  they  were  fairly  in  shot,  and  Herries, 
whose  legs  were  beginning  to  be  very  weary,  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and  in  another  instant  the  foremost  of  the  deer 
lay  quivering  in  death. 

Taking  it  upon  his  shoulders,  he  proceeded  to  the 
camp,  where  his  arrival  was  hailed  with  acclamation.  A 
fire  was  already  alight,  made  of  grass  and  turf,  the  for- 
mer being  pulled  up  in  handfuls  by  the  roots,  and  mak- 
ing a  fierce  but  short-lived  blaze.  A  large  quantity  had 
been  collected  at  hand,  and  the  ducks  were  already  cut 
up.  Half  a  one  was  handed  to  each;  for  every  man  is 
his  own  cook  upon  the  pampas. 

The  other  hunters  shortly  returned,  bringing  in  an- 
other of  the  little  deer;  for  the  stag  of  the  pampas  is  of 
small  size.  They  were  speedily  skinned  by  the  Guachos, 
and  cut  up,  and  all  the  party  were  now  engaged  in  roast- 
ing duck  and  venison  steaks  on  their  steel  ramrods  over 
the  fire. 

When  all  were  satisfied,  a  double  handful  of  tea  was 
thrown  into  the  kettle,  which  was  already  boiling,  pipea 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

lighted,  and  a  general  feeling  of  comfort  experi- 
enced. The  horses  had  been  picketed  close  at  hand, 
each  man  having  cut  or  pulled  a  heap  of  grass  and  placed 
it  before  his  beast;  beside  which,  the  picket  ropea 
allowed  each  horse  to  crop  the  grass  growing  in  a  small 
circle,  of  which  he  was  the  center. 

Mr.  Hardy  chatted  apart  for  some  time  with  the 
Guachos,  anxious  to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  the 
country  into  which  he  was  entering.  The  others  chatted 
and  told  stories.  Presently  Mr.  Hardy  joined  again  in 
the  general  conversation,  and  then,  during  a  pause,  said, 
"Although,  my  friends,  I  consider  it  most  improbable 
that  any  Indians  are  in  the  neighborhood,  still  it  is  just 
possible  that  they  may  have  remained,  on  purpose  to  fall 
at  night  upon  any  party  who  might  venture  to  pursue. 
At  any  rate,  it  is  right  to  begin  our  work  in  a  business- 
like way.  I  therefore  propose  that  we  keep  watches 
regularly.  It  is  now  nine  o'clock.  We  shall  be  moving 
by  five:  that  will  make  four  watches  of  two  hours  each. 
I  should  say  that  three  men  in  a  watch,  stationed  at  fifty 
yards  from  the  camp  upon  different  sides  would  suffice." 

There  was  a  general  assent  to  the  proposal. 

"To  save  trouble,"  Mr.  Hardy  went  on,  "I  suggest 
that  we  keep  watch  in  the  alphabetical  order  of  our 
names.  Twelve  of  us  will  be  on  to-night,  and  the  next 
twelve  to-morrow  night." 

The  proposal  was  at  once  agreed  to;  and  the  three 
who  were  first  on  duty  at  once  rose,  and,  taking  their 
rifles,  went  off  in  various  directions,  first  agreeing  that 
one  of  them  should  give  a  single  whistle  as  a  signal  that 
the  watch  was  up,  and  that  two  whistles  close  together 
would  be  a  warning  to  retreat  at  once  toward  the  center. 

The  watch  also  ascertained  which  were  the  next  three 
men  to  be  roused,  and  these  and  the  succeeding  watches 
agreed  to  lie  next  to  each  other,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  roused  without  awakening  their  companions. 


224  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

In  a  few  minutes  there  was  a  general  unrolling  of 
ponchos,  and  soon  afterward  only  sleeping  figures  could 
be  seen  by  the  dim  light  of  the  smoldering  fire.  Mr. 
Hardy,  indeed,  was  the  only  one  of  the  party  who  did 
not  fall  to  sleep.  Thoughts  of  the  events  of  the  lasfc 
twenty-four  hours,  of  the  best  course  to  be  adopted,  and 
of  the  heavy  responsibility  upon  himself  as  leader  of  this 
perilous  expedition,  prevented  him  from  sleeping.  Ha 
heard  the  watch  return,  rouse  the  relief,  and  lay  down 
in  their  places.  In  another  half  hour  he  himself  rose, 
and  walked  out  toward  the  sentry. 

It  was  a  young  man  named  Cook,  one  of  the  new  set- 
tlers to  the  east  of  Mount  Pleasant.  "Is  that  you,  Mr. 
Hardy?"  he  asked,  as  he  approached.  "I  was  just 
coming  in  to  wake  you." 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Cook?" 

"It  strikes  me,  sir,  that  there  is  a  strange  light  away 
to  the  southwest.  I  have  only  noticed  it  the  the  last 
few  minutes,  and  thought  it  was  fancy,  but  it  gets  more 
distinct  every  minute." 

Mr.  Hardy  looked  out  anxiously  into  the  gloom  and 
quickly  perceived  the  appearance  that  his  friend  alluded 
to. 

For  a  minute  or  two  he  did  not  speak,  and  then,  as 
the  light  evidently  increased,  he  said,  almost  with  a 
groan,  "It  is  what  I  feared  they  would  do:  they  have  set 
the  prairie  on  fire.  You  need  not  keep  watch  any 
longer.  We  are  as  much  separated  from  the  Indians  as 
if  the  ocean  divided  us." 

Cook  gave  the  two  short  whistles  agreed  upon  to  recall 
the  other  men  on  guard,  and  then  returned  with  Mr. 
Hardy  to  the  rest  of  the  party.  Then  Mr.  Hardy  roused 
all  his  companions.  Every  man  leaped  up,  rifle  in  hand, 
believing  that  the  Indians  were  approaching. 

"We  must  be  up  and  doing,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  cheer- 
fully; "the  Indians  have  fired  the  pampas." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

There  was  a  thrill  of  apprehension  in  the  bosom  of 
many'  present,  who  had  heard  terrible  accounts  of  prairie 
fires,  but  this  speedily  subsided  afc  the  calm  manner  of 
Mr.  Hardy. 

"The  fire,"  he  said,  "may  be  ten  miles  away  yet.  I 
should  say  that  it  was,  but  it  is  difficult  to  judge,  for 
this  grass  does  not  flame  very  high,  and  the  smoke  drifts 
between  it  and  us.  The  wind,  fortunately,  is  light,  but 
it  will  be  here  in  little  over  half  an  hour.  Now,  let  the 
four  Guachos  attend  to  the  horses,  to  see  they  do  not 
stampede.  The  rest  form  a  line  a  couple  of  yards  apart, 
and  pull  up  the  grass  by  the  roots,  throwing  it  behind 
them,  so  as  to  leave  the  ground  clear.  The  wider  we 
can  make  it  the  better." 

All  fell  to  work  with  hearty  zeal.  Looking  over  their 
shoulders,  the  sky  now  appeared  on  fire.  Flickering 
tongues  of  flame  seemed  to  struggle  upward.  There 
was  an  occasional  sound  of  feet,  as  herds  of  deer  flew  by 
before  the  danger. 

"How  far  will  it  go,  papa,  do  you  think?"  Hubert 
asked  his  father,  next  to  whom  he  was  at  work. 

"I  should  say  that  it  would  most  likely  stop  at  the 
stream  where  we  halted  to-day,  Hubert.  The  ground 
was  wet  and  boggy  for  some  distance  on  the  other  side." 

The  'horses  were  now  getting  very  restive,  and  there 
was  a  momentary  pause  from  work  to  wrap  ponchoa 
round  their  heads,  so  as  to  prevent  their  seeing  the  glare. 

The  fire  could  not  have  been  more  than  three  miles 
distant,  when  the  space  cleared  was  as  wide  as  Mr.  Hardy 
deemed  necessary  for  safety.  A  regular  noise,  some- 
thing between  a  hiss  and  a  roar,  was  plainly  audible;  and 
when  the  wind  lifted  the  smoke  the  flames  could  be 
seen  running  along  in  an  unbroken  wall  of  fire.  Birds 
flew  past  overhead  with  terrified  cries,  and  a  close,  hot 
smell  of  burning  was  very  plainly  distinguishable. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Starting  about  halfway  along  the  side  of  the  cleared 
piece  of  ground,  Mr.  Hardy  set  the  dry  grass  alight. 
For  a  moment  or  two  it  burned  slowly,  and  then,  fanned 
by  the  wind,  it  gained  force,  and  spread  in  a  semicircle 
of  flame. 

The  horses  were  already  unpicketed,  and  half  of  the 
party  held  them  at  a  short  distance  in  the  rear,  while 
the  rest  stood  in  readiness  to  extinguish  the  fire  if  it 
crossed  the  cleared  space. 

Over  and  over  again  the  fire  crept  partially  across — 
for  the  clearing  had  been  done  but  roughly — but  it  was 
speedily  stamped  out  by  the  heavy  boots  of  the  watchers. 

The  spectacle,  as  the  fire  swept  away  before  the  wind, 
was  fine  in  the  extreme.  The  party  seemed  inclosed 
between  two  walls  of  fire.  The  main  conflagration  was 
now  fearfully  close,  burning  flakes  were  already  falling 
among  them,  and  the  sound  of  the  fire  was  like  the 
hiss  of  the  surf  upon  a  pebbly  beach. 

"Now,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "forward  with  the  horses. 
Every  one  to  his  own  animal.  Put  your  ponchos  over 
your  own  heads  as  well  as  your  horses." 

In  another  minute  the  party  stood  clustered  upcn  the 
black  and  smoking  ground  which  the  fire  they  had 
kindled  had  swept  clear.  There,  for  five  minutes,  they 
remained  without  moving  unscorched  by  the  raging 
element  around  them,  but  half-choked  with  the  smoke. 

Then  Mr.  Hardy  spoke:  "It  is  over  now.  You  can 
look  up." 

There  was  a  general  expression  of  astonishment  as  the 
heads  emerged  from  their  wrappers,  and  the  eyes  recov- 
ered sufficiently  from  the  effects  of  the  blinding  smoke 
to  look  round.  Where  had  the  fire  gone?  "Where,  in- 
deed! The  main  conflagration  had  swept  by  them,  had 
divided  in  two  when  it  reached  the  ground  already 
burned,  and  these  columns,  growing  further  and  furthe* 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

asunder  as  the  newly  kindled  fire  had  widened,  were 
already  far  away  to  the  right  and  left,  while  beyond  and 
"between  them  was  the  fire  that  they  themselves  had 
kindled,  now  two  miles  wide,  and  already  far  in  the 
distance. 

These  fires  in  the  pampas,  although  they  frequently 
extend  over  a  vast  tract  of  country,  are  seldom  fatal  to 
life.  The  grass  rarely  attains  a  height  exceeding  three 
feet,  and  burns  out  almost  like  so  much  cotton.  A  man 
on  horseback,  having  no  other  method  of  escape,  can,  by 
blindfolding  his  horse  and  wrapping  his  own  face  in  a 
poncho,  ride  fearless  through  the  wall  of  fire  without 
damage  to  horse  or  rider. 

It  was  only,  therefore,  the  young  hands  who  had  felt 
any  uneasiness  at  the  sight  of  the  fire;  for  the  settlers 
were  in  the  habit  of  regularly  setting  fire  to  the  grass 
upon  their  farms  every  year  before  the  rains,  as  the 
grass  afterward  springs  up  fresh  and  green  for  the  ani- 
mals. Care  has  to  be  taken  to  choose  a  calm  day,  when 
the  flames  can  be  confined  within  bounds;  but  instances 
have  occurred  when  fires  so  commenced  have  proved 
most  disastrous,  destroying  many  thousands  of  animals. 

"There  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  remain  where  we  are 
until  morning,"  Mr.  Hardy  said.  "The  horses  had  bet- 
ter be  picketed,  and  then  those  who  can  had  better  get 
a  few  hours'  more  sleep.  We  shall  want  no  more  watch 
to-night."  In  a  few  minutes  most  of  the  party  were 
again  asleep;  and  the  young  Hardys  were  about  to  follow 
their  example,  when  Mr.  Hardy  came  up  to  them  and 
said  quietly,  "Come  this  way,  boys;  we  are  going  to  have 
a  council." 

The  boys  followed  their  father  to  where  some  eight  or 
nine  men  were  sitting  down  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
sleepers,  and  these  the  boys  made  out,  by  the  glow  from 
their  pipes,  to  consist  of  Herries  and  Farquhar,  the  two 
Jamiesons,  Mr.  Percy,  and  the  four  Guachos. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"This  is  a  terribly  bad  business/'  Mr.  Hardy  began, 
•when  he  and  his  sons  had  taken  their  seats  on  the 
ground.  "I  expected  it,  but  it  is  a  heavy  blow  never- 
theless." 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter,  papa?"  the  boys  exclaimed 
anxiously.  "Have  we  lost  anything?" 

"Yes,  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said;  "we  have  lost  what  is 
at  this  moment  the  most  important  thing  in  the  world—- 
we have  lost  the  trail." 

Charley  and  Hubert  uttered  a  simultaneous  exclama- 
tion of  dismay  as  the  truth  flashed  across  their  minds. 
"The  trail  was  lost!"  They  had  never  thought  of  this. 
In  the  excitement  of  the  fire,  it  had  never  once  occurred 
to  them  that  the  flames  were  wiping  out  every  trace  of 
the  Indian  track. 

Mr.  Hardy  then  went  on,  addressing  himself  to  the 
others:  "Of  course  this  fire  was  lit  with  the  especial  in- 
tent of  throwing  us  off  the  scent.  Have  you  any  idea 
how  far  it  is  likely  to  have  come?"  he  asked  the  Guachos. 
"That  is,  are  you  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  wide 
stream  or  damp  ground  which  would  have  checked  it, 
and  which  must  therefore  be  the  furthest  boundary  of 
the  fire?" 

The  Guachos  were  silent  a  minute;  then  Perez  said, 
"The  next  stream  is  fifteen  miles  further;  but  it  is  small, 
and  would  not  stop  the  fire  going  with  the  wind.  Be- 
yond that  there  is  no  certain  stream,  as  far  as  I  know  of." 

"The  ground  rises,  and  the  grass  gets  thinner  and 
poorer  thirty  miles  or  so  on.  I  should  say  that  they 
would  light  it  this  side  of  that,"  Martinez  said.  The 
other  Guachos  nodded  assent. 

"We  took  the  bearings  of  the  track  by  our  compass," 
Farquhar  said.  "Could  we  not  follow  it  on  by  compass 
across  the  burned  ground,  and  hit  it  upon  the  other 
Bide?" 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPA8. 

} 

Mr.  Percy  and  Mr.  Hardy  both  shook  their  heads.  "I 
do  not  pretend  to  say  where  the  trail  is  gone/'  the  for- 
mer said,  "but  the  one  place  where  I  am  quite  sure  it  is 
not,  is  on  the  continuation  of  the  present  line." 

"No,"  Mr.  Hardy  continued.  "As  you  say,  Percy, 
there  it  certainly  is  not.  The  Indians,  when  they  got  to 
some  place  which  is  probably  about  half  across  the 
burned  ground,  turned  either  to  the  right  or  left,  and 
traveled  steadily  in  that  direction,  sending  one  or  two  of 
their  number  in  the  old  direction  to  light  the  grass,  so 
as  to  sweep  away  all  trace  of  the  trail.  They  may  have 
gone  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  or  may  even  have  doubled 
back  and  passed  us  again  at  only  a  few  miles'  distance. 
We  have  no  clew  whatever  to  guide  us  at  present,  except 
the  certainty  that  sooner  or  later  the  Indians  will  make 
for  their  own  camping-ground.  That  is  the  exact  state 
of  the  affair."  And  Mr.  Hardy  repeated  what  he  had 
just  said  in  Spanish  to  the  Guachos,  who  nodded  assent. 

"And  in  which  direction  do  the  Guachos  believe  thafc 
their  camping-ground  lies?"  Mr.  Jamieson  asked  after 
a  pause;  "because  it  appears  to  me  that  it  is  a  waste  of 
time  to  look  for  the  trail,  and  that  our  only  plan  is  to 
push  straight  on  to  their  villages,  which  we  may  reach 
before  they  get  there.  And  in  that  case,  if  we  found 
them  unguarded,  we  might  seize  all  their  women,  and 
hold  them  as  hostages  until  they  return.  Then  we  could 
exchange  them  for  Ethel;  and  when  we  had  once  got 
her,  we  could  fight  our  way  back." 

"Capital,  capital!"  the  other  English  man  exclaimed. 
"Don't  you  think  so,  papa?"  Hubert  added,  seeing  that 
Mr.  Hardy  did  not  join  in  the  general  approval. 

"The  plan  is  an  admirably  conceived  one,  but  there  is 
a  great  difficulty  in  the  way.  I  observed  yesterday  that 
the  trail  did  not  lead  due  south,  as  it  should  have  done 
if  the  Indians  were  going  straight  back  to  their  camping 


330  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

ground.  I  questioned  the  Guachos,  and  they  all  agree 
•with  me  on  the  subject.  The  trail  is  too  westerly  for 
the  camping-grounds  of  the  Pampas  Indians;  too  far  to 
the  south  for  the  country  of  the  Flat-faces  of  the  Sierras. 
I  fear  that  there  is  a  combination  of  the  two  tribes,  as 
there  was  in  the  attack  upon  us,  and  that  they  went  the 
first  day  in  the  direction  which  would  be  most  advan- 
tageous for  both;  and  that,  on  reaching  their  halting- 
place — perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  here — they 
made  a  division  of  their  booty,  and  each  tribe  drew  off 
toward  its  own  hunting-grounds.  In  this  case  we  have 
first  to  find  the  two  trails,  then  to  decide  the  terrible 
question,  which  party  have  taken  Ethel?" 

Again  the  Guachos,  upon  this  being  translated  to 
them,  expressed  their  perfect  accordance  with  Mr. 
Hardy's  views,  and  some  surprise  at  his  idea  as  having 
been  so  identical  with  their  own  upon  the  subject. 

As  for  the  six  young  men,  they  were  too  dismayed  at 
the  unexpected  difficulties  which  had  started  up  in  their 
way  to  give  any  opinion  whatever.  This  uncertainty 
was  terrible,  and  all  felt  that  it  would  have  a  most  de- 
pressing effect  upon  themselves  and  upon  the  whole 
expedition;  for  how  could  they  tell,  after  journeying  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  whether  every  step  might  not  take 
them  further  from  the  object  of  their  search? 

In  this  state  of  depression  they  remained  for  some 
minutes,  when  Perez  the  Guacho  said,  in  his  broken 
English,  "Most  tribe  take  most  plunder,  most  cattle, 
most  sheep — take  girl." 

"Well  thought  of,  Perez!"  Mr.  Hardy  exclaimed 
warmly.  "That  is  the  clew  for  us,  sure  enough.  As 
you  say,  the  tribe  who  has  furnished  most  men  will,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  take  a  larger  share  of  the  booty;  and 
Ethel,  being  the  only  captive,  would  naturally  go  to  the 
strongest  tribe." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  231 

The  rest  were  all  delighted  at  this  solution  of  a  diffi- 
culty which  had  before  appeared  insuperable,  and  the 
most  lively  satisfaction  was  manifested. 

The  plans  for  the  day  were  then  discussed.  Proposi- 
tions were  made  that  they  should  divide  into  two  parties, 
and  go  one  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the  left  until 
they  arrived  at  unburned  ground,  the  edge  of  which 
they  should  follow  until  they  met.  This  scheme  was, 
however,  given  up,  as  neither  party  would  have  seen  the 
trail  inspected  by  the  other  and  no  opinion  could  there- 
fore be  formed  as  to  the  respective  magnitude  of  the 
parties  who  had  passed — a  matter  requiring  the  most 
careful  examination  and  comparison,  and  an  accurate 
and  practiced  judgment. 

It  was  finally  resolved,  therefore,  to  keep  in  a  body, 
and  to  proceed,  in  the  first  place,  to  search  for  the  trail 
of  the  party  to  the  south.  A  calculation  was  made, 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  Indians  had  traveled  for 
another  twenty-five  miles  upon  their  old  course,  and 
then  separated,  each  party  making  directly  for  home. 
To  avoid  all  mistakes,  and  to  allow  for  a  detour,  it  was 
determined  to  shape  a  direct  course  to  a  point  considera- 
bly to  the  east  of  that  given  by  the  calculation,  to  follow 
the  edge  of  the  burned  ground  until  the  trail  was  arrived 
at,  and  then  to  cut  straight  across,  in  order  to  find  and 
examine  the  trail  of  the  western  Indians. 

As  this  conclusion  was  arrived  at,  tha  first  dawn  of 
light  appeared  in  the  east,  and  Mr.  Hardy  at  once  roused 
the  sleepers. 

He  then  gave  them  a  brief  account  of  the  conclusions 
to  which  he  had  arrived  in  the  night,  and  of  his  reason, 
for  so  doing.  There  was  a  general  expression  of  agree- 
ment, then  the  girths  were  tightened,  and  in  five  min- 
utes the  troop  was  in  motion. 

How  great  was  the  change  since  the  preceding  evea- 


232  OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

ing!  Then,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  stretched  a 
plain  of  waving  grass.  Birds  had  called  to  their  mates, 
coveys  of  game  had  risen  at  their  approach;  deer  had 
been  seen  bounding  away  in  the  distance;  ostriches  had 
gazed  for  an  instant  at  the  unusual  sight  of  man,  and 
had  gone  off  with  their  heads  forward  and  their  wings 
outstretched  before  the  wind. 

Now,  the  eye  wandered  over  a  plain  of  dingy  black, 
unbroken  by  a  single  prominence,  undisturbed  by  living 
creatures  except  themselves.  As  [Hubert  remarked  to 
his  father,  "Ifc  looked  as  if  it  had  been  snowing  black  all 
night." 

Both  men  and  horses  were  anxious  to  get  over  these 
dreary  plains,  and  the  pace  was  faster,  and  the  halts  less 
frequent,  than  they  had  been  the  day  before. 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  fire  had  not  taken  place  at 
an  earlier  hour  of  the  evening,  as  the  horses  would  have 
been  weakened  by  want  of  food.  As  it  was,  they  had 
had  five  hours  to  feed  after  their  arrival. 

Both  men  and  horses,  however,  suffered  much  from 
thirst;  and  the  former  had  good  reason  to  congratulate 
themselves  on  having  filled  every  water-skin  at  the  first 
halting-place  of  the  preceding  day.  Clouds  of  black  im- 
palpable dust  rose  as  they  rode  along.  The  eyes,  mouth, 
and  nostrils  were  filled  with  it,  and  they  were  literally  as 
black  as  the  ground  over  which  they  rode. 

Twice  they  stopped  and  drank,  and  sparingly  washed 
out  the  nostrils  and  mouths  of  the  horses,  which  was  a 
great  relief  to  them,  for  they  suffered  as  much  as  did 
their  masters,  as  also  did  Dash,  who,  owing  to  his  head 
being  so  near  the  ground,  was  almost  suffocated;  indeed, 
Hubert  at  last  dismounted,  and  took  the  poor  animal  up 
on  to  the  saddle  before  him. 

At  last,  after  four  hours*  steady  riding,  a  gleam  of 
color  was  seen  in  the  distance,  and  in  another  quarter  of 


GUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  233 

an  Hour  they  reached  the  unburned  plains,  which,  worn 
and  parched  as  they  were,  looked  refreshing  indeed  after 
the  dreary  waste  over  which  they  had  passed. 

The  Guachos,  after  a  consultation  among  themselves, 
agreed  in  the  opinion  that  the  little  stream  of  which 
they  had  spoken  was  but  a  short  distance  further,  and 
that,  although  the  channel  might  be  dry,  pools  would 
no  doubt  be  found  in  it.  It  was  determined,  therefore, 
to  push  on,  and  half  an  hour's  riding  by  the  edge  of  the 
burned  grass  brought  them  to  the  spot,  when,  following 
the  course  of  the  channel,  they  soon  came  to  a  pool,  from 
which  men  and  horses  took  a  long  drink. 

At  their  approach  an  immense  number  of  wild  duck 
rose,  and,  as  soon  as  the  horses  were  picketed  Charley 
again  started  with  the  gun,  taking  Terence  with  him  to 
assist  in  bringing  home  the  birds.  They  soon  heard  his 
gun,  and  Terence  presently  returned  with  six  brace  of 
ducks  and  a  goose,  and  a  request  that  another  man  would 
go  back  with  him,  for  that  the  birds  were  so  abundant, 
and  so  apparently  stupefied  from  flying  over  the  smoke 
and  flame,  that  he  could  bring  in  any  quantity. 

One  of  the  Jamiesons  and  Herries  therefore  went  out, 
and  returned  in  less  than  an  hour  with  Charley,  bringing 
between  them  four  more  geese  and  eighteen  brace  of 
ducks. 

Charley  was  greeted  with  a  round  of  applause,  and  was 
soon  at  work  with  his  friends  upon  the  meal  which  was 
now  ready. 

After  breakfast  there  was  a  comparison  of  opinion, 
and  it  was  at  last  generally  agreed  that  they  had  ridden 
nearly  forty  miles  since  daybreak,  and  that  they  could 
not  be  far  from  the  spot  where  the  Indians  ought  to  have 
passed  if  they  had  kept  the  direction  as  calculated.  It 
was  also  agreed  that  it  would  be  better  to  let  the  horses 
remain  where  they  were  till  late  in  the  afternoon,  when 
they  might  accomplish  another  fifteen  miles  or  so. 


234  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Mr.  Hardy  then  proposed  that  those  who  were  inclined 
should  accompany  him  on  a  walk  along  the  edge  of  the 
burned  ground.  "We  cannot  be  very  far  oil  from  the 
trail,"  he  said,  "if  our  calculations  are  correct;  and  if 
we  can  find  and  examine  it  before  it  is  time  to  start,  we 
may  be  able  to-night  to  cross  to  the  other  side,  and  thus 
gain  some  hours." 

Herries,  Farquhar,  the  two  Jamiesons,  Cook,  and  the 
young  Hardys  at  once  volunteered  for  the  walk,  and 
shouldering  their  rifles,  started  at  a  steady  pace. 

They  had  not  walked  much  over  a  mile  when  a  shout 
of  pleasure  broke  from  them,  as,  upon  ascending  a 
slight  rise,  they  saw  in  the  hollow  below  them  the  broad 
line  of  trampled  grass,  which  showed  that  a  large  body 
of  animals  had  lately  passed  along.  All  hurried  forward, 
and  a  close  and  anxious  examination  took  place. 

Opinions  differed  a  good  deal  as  to  the  number  that 
had  passed;  nor,  accustomed  as  they  all  were  to  seeing 
the  tracks  made  by  herds  of  cattle  and  flocks  of  sheep, 
could  they  come  to  any  approximate  agreement  on  the 
subject.  Had  the  number  been  smaller,  the  task  would 
have  been  easier;  but  it  is  a  question  requiring  extreme 
knowledge  and  judgment  to  decide  whether  four  hun- 
dred cattle  and  two  thousand  sheep,  or  six  hundred  cat- 
tle and  three  thousand  sheep,  have  passed  over  a  picee 
of  ground. 

Mr.  Hardy  at  last  sent  Charley  back,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Cook,  to  request  Mr.  Percy  to  come  on  at  once  with, 
the  Guachos  to  give  their  opinion.  Charley  and  his 
companions  were  to  remain  with  the  horses,  and  were  to 
request  those  not  specially  sent  for  to  stay  there  also,  as 
it  would  be  imprudent  in  the  extreme  to  leave  the  horsea 
without  a  strong  guard. 

Pending  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Percy,  Mr.  Hardy  and  his 
friends  followed  up  the  trial  for  some  distance,  so  as  to 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  235 

examine  it  both  in  the  soft  bottoms  and  on  the  rises. 
They  returned  in  half  an  hour  to  their  starting  place, 
and  were  shortly  after  joined  by  Mr.  Percy  and  the 
Guachos.  Again  a  careful  and  prolonged  examination 
took  place,  and  a  tolerably  unanimous  opinion  was  at 
last  arrived  at,  that  a  very  large  number  of  animals  had 
passed,  apparently  the  larger  half,  but  that  no  positive 
opinion  could  be  arrived  at  until  a  comparison  was  made 
-with  the  trail  on  the  western  side. 

Although  this  conclusion  was  arrived  at  unanimously, 
It  appeared  to  be  reluctantly  conceded  to  by  most  of 
them,  and  the  reason  of  this  became  apparent  as  they 
were  walking  back  toward  the  horses.  "1  have  little 
doubt  that  the  conclusion  we  have  arrived  at  is  correct," 
Herries  remarked,  ' 'although  somehow  I  am  sorry  for  it; 
for  ever  since  our  talk  last  night  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  that  she  was  most  likely  to  be  taken  to  the  west. 
I  suppose  because  the  Indians  there  are  more  warlike 
than  those  of  the  pampas,  and  therefore  likely  to  have 
furnished  a  larger  contingent.  Of  course  I  had  no 
reason  for  thinking  so,  but  so  it  was." 

"That  was  just  what  I  thought,"  Hubert  said;  and 
the  other  Englishmen  admitted  that  they  had  all  enter- 
tained a  somewhat  similar  idea. 

~  At  four  in  the  afternoon  they  were  again  in  the  sad- 
dle, having  taken  the  precaution  of  filling  their  water- 
ekins,  and  of  watering  the  horses  the  last  thing. 

"How  far  do  you  think  it  is  across,  papa?"  Hubert 
asked. 

"It  cannot  be  very  far,  Hubert.  We  are  so  much 
nearer  the  place  where  the  fire  began  that  I  do  not 
think  it  can  have  spread  more  than  ten  miles  or  so 
across." 

Mr.  Hardy's  conjecture  proved  to  be  correct.  An 
hour  and  a  half's  riding  brought  them  to  the  other  side 


386  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

of  the  burned  prairie,  striking  a  point  which  they  felt 
sure  was  to  the  south  of  the  place  where  the  trail  would 
have  left  it. 

As  they  had  done  more  than  fifty  miles  since  the 
morning,  and  the  horses  were  much  distressed  with  the 
effect  of  the  dust,  it  was  resolved  to  encamp  at  once. 
The  horses  received  a  little  water,  and  were  picketed  out 
to  graze.  The  fire  was  soon  lit,  and  the  ducks  cut  up 
and  spitted  upon  the  ramrods. 

All  were  so  much  exhausted  with  the  heat,  the  ashes, 
the  fatigue,  and  the  want  of  sleep  of  the  previous  night 
that,  the  tea  and  pipes  finished  and  the  watch  posted, 
the  rest  lay  down  to  sleep  before  the  sun  had  been  an 
hour  below  the  horizon. 

All  rose  at  daybreak,  refreshed  with  their  quiet  night's 
rest,  and  were  soon  in  the  saddle  and  on  their  way  north- 
ward. 

They  had  nearly  an  hour's  ride  before  they  came  upon 
the  trail. 

There  it  was  unmistakably — at  first  sight  as  broad  and 
as  much  trampled  as  the  other;  but  after  a  careful 
examination  of  it  there  was  but  one  opinion,  namely, 
that  the  number  of  animals  who  had  passed  was  de- 
cidedly less  than  those  who  had  gone  south. 

One  of  the  Guachos  now  told  Mr.  Hardy  that  he  knew 
that  at  a  short  distance  further  to  the  west  there  was  a 
spring  of  water  much  used  by  the  Indians,  and  where  he 
had  no  doubt  they  had  halted  on  the  night  of  the  fire. 
Finding  that  it  was  not  more  than  half  an  hour's  ride, 
Mr.  Hardy,  after  a  brief  consultation,  determined  to  go 
over  there  to  water  the  horses  and  breakfast,  before 
retracing  their  footsteps  across  the  burned  prairie. 

In  little  over  the  time  named  they  came  to  a  small 
pool  of  bright  water,  from  which  a  little  stream  issued, 
running  nearly  due  north  across  the  plain.  After  drink« 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  237 

ing  heartily  themselves,  and  filling  the  water-skins  and 
kettle,  the  horses  were  allowed  to  drink;  and  Dash 
plunged  in  with  the  greatest  delight,  emerging  his  usual 
bright  chestnut  color,  whereas  he  had  gone  into  the 
water  perfectly  hlack. 

After  he  had  come  out  and  had  shaken  himself,  he 
commenced  hunting  about,  sniffing  so  violently  that 
Hubert's  attention  was  attracted  to  him.  Presently  the 
dog  ran  forward  a  few  paces  and  gave  a  sharp  bark  of 
pleasure,  and  Hubert,  running  forward,  gave  so  loud  a 
cry  that  all  the  party  rushed  up. 

Hubert  could  not  speak.  There,  half-buried  in  the 
ground,  and  pointing  west,  was  an  Indian  arrow,  and 
round  the  head  was  twisted  a  piece  of  white  calico,  with 
little  blue  spots  upon  it,  which  Mr.  Hardy  instantly 
recognized  as  a  piece  of  the  dress  Ethel  had  worn  when 
she  left  home. 

Surprise  kept  all  quiet  for  awhile,  and  then  exclama- 
tions of  pleasure  and  excitement  broke  from  all,  while 
Mr.  Hardy  and  his  sons  were  greatly  affected  at  this 
proof  of  the  recent  presence  of  their  lost  one.  The 
arrow  was  deeply  sunk  in  the  ground,  but  it  was  placed 
at  a  spot  where  the  grass  happened  to  be  particularly 
short,  so  that  any  one  passing  outward  from  the  spring 
could  hardly  have  failed  to  notice  the  piece  of  calico 
upon  the  grass.  There  was  a  perfect  shower  of  congrat- 
ulations; and  it  was  some  time  before  they  were  recov- 
ered sufficiently  to  renew  their  preparations  for  break- 
fast. 

At  last  they  sat  down  round  the  fire,  all  their  face* 
radiant  with  excitement. 

Perez  and  Martinez,  however,  eat  somewhat  apart, 
talking  in  an  animated  undertone  to  each  other.  They 
did  not  even  approach  the  fire  to  roast  their  food;  and 
Mr.  Hardy's  attention  being  attracted  by  this  circum- 


238  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

stance,  he  asked  what  they  were  talking  so  earnestly 
about. 

Neither  of  them  answered  him,  and  he  repeated  the 
question.  Then  Perez  replied:  "Martinez  and  I  think 
same.  All  trick;  girl  gone  other  way." 

Conversation  and  eating  were  alike  suspended  at  these 
ominous  words,  and  each  looked  blankly  into  the  others' 
faces. 

Now  that  their  attention  was  called  to  it,  the  whole 
circumstances  of  the  case  rushed  to  their  minds;  and  as 
they  felt  the  probable  truth  of  what  Perez  said,  their 
hopes  fell  to  zero. 

Mr.  Percy  was  the  first  who,  after  a  long  silence, 
epoke.  "I  am  afraid,  Hardy,  that  what  Perez  says  is 
right,  and  that  we  have  been  very  nearly  thrown  off  the 
scent  by  a  most  transparent  trick.  Watched  as  Ethel 
must  have  been,  is  it  probable  that  she  could  have  pos- 
sessed herself  of  that  arrow,  and  have  fastened  a  strip 
of  her  dress  to  it,  without  being  noticed?  Still  more 
impossible  is  it  that  she  could  have  placed  the  arrow 
where  we  found  it.  No  one  could  have  passed  without 
noticing  it;  so  unless  we  suppose  that  she  was  allowed  to 
linger  behind  every  one,  which  is  out  of  the  question, 
the  arrow  could  not  have  been  put  there  by  her." 

"Too  true,  Percy,"  Mr.  Hardy  said  with  a  sigh,  after  a 
short  silence;  "it  is  altogether  impossible,  and  I  should 
call  it  a  clumsy  artifice,  were  it  not  that  it  deceived  us 
all  for  awhile.  However,  there  is  one  comfort;  it 
decides  the  question  as  we  had  ourselves  decided  it: 
Ethel  is  gone  with  the  larger  party  to  the  south." 

Breakfast  was  continued,  but  with  a  very  subdued  feel- 
ing. Hubert  had  now  finished  his,  and,  being  a  lad  of 
restless  habit,  he  took  up  the  arrow  which  lay  beside 
him,  and  began  toying  with  it.  First  he  untied  the 
piece  of  stuff,  smoothed  it,  and  put  it  into  his  pocket- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  239 

book,  while  his  eyes  filled  with  tears;  then  he  continued 
listlessly  twisting  the  arrow  in  his  fingers,  while  he  lis- 
tened to  the  conversation  around  him. 

Presently  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  arrow.  He  started, 
.a  flush  of  excitement  rushed  across  his  face,  and  his 
hands  and  lips  trembled  as  he  closely  examined  the 
feather. 

All  gazed  at  him  with  astonishment. 

"Oh,  papa,  papa,"  he  cried  at  last,  "I  know  this 
arrow!" 

"Know  the  arrow!"  all  repeated. 

"Yes,  I  am  quite,  quite  sure  I  know  it.  Don't  you 
remember,  Charley,  the  day  that  those  wounded  Indians 
started,  as  we  were  taking  the  quivers  down  to  them,  I 
noticed  that  one  arrow  had  two  feathers  which  I  had 
never  seen  before,  and  could  not  guess  what  bird  they 
came  from.  They  were  light  blue,  with  a  crimson  tip. 
I  pulled  one  off  to  compare  it  with  my  ethers.  It  is  at 
home  now.  I  remember  that  I  chose  the  one  I  did 
because  the  other  one  had  two  of  the  little  side  feathers 
gone.  This  is  the  feather,  I  can  most  solemnly  declare, 
and  you  see  the  fellow  one  is  gone.  That  arrow  belongs 
to  one  of  the  men  we  recovered." 

All  crowded  round  to  examine  the  arrow,  and  then 
Mr.  Hardy  said  solemnly,  "Thank  God  for  his  mercy, 
He  has  decided  our  way  now.  Undoubtedly,  as  Hubert 
says,  one  of  the  men  we  aided  is  of  the  party,  and  wishes 
to  show  his  gratitude.  So  he  has  managed  to  get  a 
piece  of  Ethel's  dress,  and  has  tied  it  to  this  arrow, 
hoping  that  we  should  recognize  the  feather.  Thank 
God,  there  is  no  more  doubt,  and  thank  Him,  too,  that 
Ethel  has  at  least  one  friend  near  her." 

All  was  now  joy  and  congratulation,  and  Hubert 
Tubbed  his  hands,  and  said  triumphantly, "There,  Charley, 


240  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS 

you  were  always  chaffing  me,  and  wanting  to  know 
what  was  the  good  of  my  collection,  and  now  you  see 
what  was  the  good.  It  has  put  us  on  the  right  trail  for 
Ethel,  and  you  will  never  be  able  to  laugh  at  me  about 
my  collection  again." 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

AT  THE   STAKE. 

IT  was  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth-  day  after  her  cap- 
ture by  the  Indians  that  Ethel  Hardy  rode  into  a  wide 
valley  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains.  It  was  entered  by 
a  narrow  gorge,  through  which  ran  a  stream.  Beyond 
this  the  hill  receded,  forming  a  nearly  circular  basin  a 
mile  in  diameter,  from  the  sides  of  which'  the  rocks 
ascended  almost  perpendicularly,  so  that  the  only  means 
of  entering  it  was  through  the  gorge.  Clumps  of  trees 
were  scattered  everywhere  about,  and  nearly  in  the  cen- 
ter stood  a  large  Indian  village,  numbering  about  three 
hundred  lodges,  the  population  of  which,  consisting 
almost  entirely  of  women  and  children,  came  out  with 
shrill  cries  of  welcome  to  meet  the  returning  band. 
This  was  two  hundred  strong.  Before  them  they  drove 
about  four  hundred  cattle  and  fifteen  hundred  sheep. 
In  the  midst  of  the  band  Ethel  Hardy  rode,  apparently 
unwatched,  and  forming  part  of  it. 

The  girl  was  very  pale,  and  turned  even  more  so  at 
the  wild  yells  of  triumph  which  rose  around  her,  when 
those  who  had  been  left  behind  learned  how  signal  had 
been  the  success  of  their  warriors,  and  heard  that  the 
captive  in  their  midst  was  one  of  the  family  which  had 
inflicted  such  terrible  loss  upon  the  tribe  two  years  pre- 
viously. Fortunately  she  could  not  understand  the 
volleys  of  threats  and  curses  which  the  women  of  the 
tribe  heaped  upon  her,  although  she  could  not  mistake 
their  furious  ejaculations. 


OUT  ON  TEE  PAMPAS. 

Ethel  had  cried  at  first  until  she  could  cry  no  more, 
and  had  now  nerved  herself  for  the  worst.  She  had 
heard  that  the  Indians  have  neither  mercy  nor  pity  for 
any  one  who  may  exhibit  fear  of  death;  she  knew  that 
no  entreaties  or  tears  would  move  them  in  the  slightest, 
but  that  courage  and  firmness  would  at  any  rate  com- 
mand their  respect  and  admiration.  She  had  therefore 
schooled  herself  to  show  no  emotion  when  the  time  came; 
and  now,  except  that  she  had  given  an  involuntary  shud- 
der at  the  sight  of  the  gesticulating  throng,  she  betrayed 
no  sign  whatever  of  her  emotion,  but  looked  round  so 
calmly  and  unflinchingly  that  the  violent  abuse  and 
gesticulations  died  away  in  a  murmur  of  admiration  of 
the  pale-faced  child  who  looked  so  calmly  on  death. 

Nevertheless,  as  the  troop  drew  up  in  front  of  the 
council  hut,  and  alighted,  the  women  pressed  round  as 
usual  to  heap  abuse  upon  the  prisoner;  but  one  of  the 
Indians  stepped  up  to  her,  and  waved  them  back,  and 
saying,  "She  is  the  child  of  a  great  chief,"  took  her  by 
the  arm,  and  handed  her  over  to  the  care  of  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  principal  chiefs.  The  selection  was  a  good 
one;  for  the  woman,  who  was  young,  was  known  in  the 
tribe  as  the  Fawn  for  her  gentle  disposition.  She  at 
once  led  the  captive  away  to  her  lodge,  where  she  bade 
her  sit  down,  offered  her  food,  and  spoke  kindly  to  her 
in  her  low,  soft,  Indian  tongue.  Ethel  could  not  under- 
stand her,  but  the  kindly  tones  moved  her  more  than  the 
threats  of  the  crowd  outside  had  done,  and  she  broke 
down  in  a  torrent  of  tears. 

The  Indian  woman  drew  the  girl  to  her  as  a  mother 
might  have  done,  stroked  her  long  fair  hair,  and  soothed 
her  with  her  low  talk.  Then  she  motioned  to  a  pile  of 
skins  in  the  corner  of  the  hut;  and  when  Ethel  gladly 
threw  herself  down  upon  them  the  Indian  woman  cov- 
ered her  up  as  she  would  have  done  a  child,  and  with  a 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  243 

nod  of  farewell  tripped  off  to  welcome  her  husband  and 
hear  the  news,  knowing  that  there  was  no  possibility  of 
the  captive  making  her  escape. 

Exhausted  with  fatigue  and  emotion,  EthePs  sobs 
soon  ceased,  and  she  fell  into  a  sound  sleep. 

Of  that  terrible  catastrophe  at  the  Mercers'  she  had 
but  a  confused  idea.  They  were  sitting  round  the  table 
talking,  when,  without  the  slightest  notice  or  warning, 
the  windows  and  doors  were  burst  in,  and  dozens  of  dark 
forma  leaped  into  the  room.  She  saw  Mr.  Mercer  rush 
to  the  wall  and  seize  his  pistols,  and  then  she  saw  no 
more.  She  was  seized  and  thrown  over  the  shoulder  of 
an  Indian  before  she  had  time  to  do  more  than  leap  to 
her  feet.  There  was  a  confused  whirl  of  sounds  around 
her — shrieks,  threats,  pistol  shots,  and  savage  yells- 
then  the  sounds  swam  in  her  ears,  and  she  fainted. 

When  she  recovered  consciousness  she  found  that  she 
was  being  carried  on  a  horse  before  her  captor,  and  that 
the  air  was  full  of  a  red  glare,  which  she  supposed  to 
arise  from  a  burning  house.  On  the  chief,  who  carried 
her,  perceiving  that  she  had  recovered  her  senses,  he 
called  to  one  of  his  followers,  who  immediately  rode  up, 
bringing  a  horse  upon  which  a  side-saddle  had  been 
placed.  To  this  Ethel  was  transposed,  and  in  another 
minute  was  galloping  along  by  the  side  of  her  captor. 

Even  now  she  could  hardly  persuade  herself  that  she 
was  not  dreaming.  That  instantaneous  scene  at  the 
Mercers' — those  confused  sounds — this  wild  cavalcade  of 
dark  figures  who  rode  round  her — could  not  surely  be 
real.  Alas!  she  could  not  doubt  it;  and  as  the  thought 
came  across  her,  What  would  they  say  at  home  when 
they  heard  it?  she  burst  into  an  agony  of  silent  tears. 
Toward  daybreak  she  was  often  startled  to  hear  the 
words,  "Hope,  Ethel,  hope!"  in  Spanish  distinctly 
epoken  close  to  her.  She  turned  hastily,  but  there  rode 


THE  PAMPA8. 

the  dark  forms  as  usual.  Still  she  felt  sure  that  she  wai 
not  mistaken.  Her  own  name  she  had  distinctly  heard; 
and  although  she  could  not  form  a  conjecture  who  this 
unknown  friend  could  be,  still  it  was  a  great  consolation 
to  her  to  feel  that  she  had  at  any  rate  one  well-wisher 
among  her  enemies.  He  had  told  her  to  hope,  too;  and 
Ethel's  spirits,  with  the  elasticity  of  youth,  rose  at  the 
word. 

Why  should  she  not  hope?  she  thought.  They  were 
sure  to  hear  it  at  home  next  morning,  even  if  no  one 
escaped  and  took  them  the  news  earlier;  and  she  was 
certain  that  within  a  few  hours  of  hearing  it  her  father 
and  friends  would  be  on  their  trail.  Before  the  night 
fell,  at  latest,  they  would  be  assembled.  Twenty-four 
hours'  start  would  be  the  utmost  that  the  Indians  eould 
possibly  obtain,  and  her  friends  would  travel  as  fast  or 
faster  than  they  could,  for  they  would  be  free  from  all 
incumbrances.  How  far  she  was  to  be  taken  she  could 
not  say,  but  she  felt  sure  that  in  a  week's  traveling  her 
friends  would  make  «p  for  the  day  lost  at  starting.  She 
knew  that  they  might  not  be  able  to  attack  the  Indians 
directly  they  came  up,  for  they  could  not  be  a  very 
strong  party,  whereas  the  Indians  were  several  hundred 
strong;  but  she  believed  that  sooner  or  later,  in  some 
way  or  other,  her  father  and  brothers  would  come  to  her 
rescue.  Ethel  from  that  time  forward  did  not  doubt  for 
a  moment.  Trusting  thus  firmly  in  her  friends,  she 
gained  confidence  and  courage;  and  when  the  troops 
halted  at  nine  in  the  morning,  after  nine  hours'  riding, 
Ethel  was  able  to  look  round  with  some  sort  of  curiosity 
and  interest. 

It  was  here  that  an  incident  occurred,  which,  although 
she  knew  it  not  at  the  time,  entirely  altered  her  destina- 
tion and  prospects. 

She  was  sitting  upon  the  ground,  when  a  man,  who  by 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  £45 

his  bearing  appeared  to  be  the  principal  chief  present, 
passed  in  earnest  talk  with  another  chief.  In  the  latter 
she  recognized  at  once  one  of  the  wounded  Indian 
prisoners. 

"Tawaina,"  she  said,  leaping  to  her  feet. 

He  paid  no  attention  to  her  call,  and  she  repeated  it 
in  a  louder  tone. 

The  principal  chief  stopped;  Tawaina  did  the  same. 
Then  he  walked  slowly  toward  the  captive. 

"Save  me,  Tawaina,"  she  said,  "and  send  me  back 
again  home." 

Tawaina  shook  his  head. 

"Not  can,"  he  said.  "Tawaina  friend.  Help  some 
time — not  now."  And  he  turned  away  again. 

"Does  the  Eaven  know  the  White  Bird,"  the  chief 
asked  him,  "that  she  sings  his  name?" 

Tawaina  paused  and  said: 

"Tawaina  knows  her.  Her  father  is  the  great  white 
brave." 

The  Indian  chief  gave  a  bound  of  astonishment  and 
pleasure. 

"The  white  brave  with  the  shooting  flames?" 

Tawaina  nodded. 

The  Raven's  meeting  with  Ethel  had  been  apparently 
accidental,  but  was  in  reality  intentional.  Her  actual 
captor  was  one  of  the  chiefs,  although  not  the  principal 
one,  of  the  Pampas  Indians;  and  in  the  division  of  the 
spoil,  preparations  for  which  were  going  on,  there  was 
no  doubt  that  she  would  be  assigned  to  that  tribe,  with- 
out any  question  upon  the  part  of  the  Raven's  people. 

Now,  however,  that  the  Stag  knew  who  the  prisoner 
was,  he  determined  to  obtain  her  for  his  tribe.  He 
therefore  went  direct  to  the  chief  of  the  Pampas  Indians, 
and  asked  that  the  white  girl  might  fall  to  his  tribe. 

The  chief  hesitated. 


£46  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"She  is  our  only  captive/'  he  said.  "The  people  will 
like  to  see  her,  and  she  will  live  in  the  lodge  of  the  Fox, 
•who  carried  her  off." 

"The  Stag  would  like  her  for  a  slave  to  his  wife.  He 
will  give  fifty  bullocks  and  two  hundred  sheep  to  the 
tribe,  and  will  make  the  Fox's  heart  glad  with  a  present." 

The  offer  appeared  so  large  for  a  mere  puny  girl  that 
the  chief  assented  at  once;  and  the  Fox  was  content  to 
take  a  gun,  which  proved  part  of  the  spoil,  for  his 
interest  in  his  captive. 

The  Indians  of  the  Stag's  tribe  murmured  to  them- 
selves at  this  costly  bargain  upon  the  part  of  their  chief. 
However,  they  expressed  nothing  of  this  before  him, 
and  continued  the  work  of  counting  and  separating  the 
animals  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  each  tribe  pres- 
ent— the  tribes  from  the  plains  being  considerably  the 
more  numerous. 

Not  until  four  o'clock  were  they  again  in  motion, 
when  each  tribe  started  direct  for  home. 

In  three  hours'  riding  they  reached  the  spring,  and 
then  the  Stag  ordered  a  small  tent  of  skins  to  be  erected 
for  Ethel's  accommodation. 

From  this  she  came  out  an  hour  later  to  gaze  upon 
the  great  wave  of  fire  which,  kindled  at  a  point  far  away 
by  their  scouts,  now  swept  along  northward,  passing  at  a 
distance  of  three  or  four  miles  from  the  spring. 

It  was  when  sitting  gravely  round  the  fire  later  on 
that  the  Stag  deigned  to  enlighten  his  followers  as  to 
his  reasons  for  giving  what  seemed  to  them  so  great  a 
price  for  a  pale-faced  child. 

The  delight  of  the  Indians,  when  they  found  that  they 
had  the  daughter  of  their  twice  victorious  enemy  in 
their  hands  was  unbounded.  Vengeance  is  to  the 
Indian  even  more  precious  than  plunder;  and  the  tribe 
would  not  have  grudged  a  far  higher  price  even  than, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  24? 

had  been  paid  for  the  gratification  of  thus  avenging 
themselves  upon  their  enemy.  The  news  flew  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  and  triumphant  whoops  resounded 
throughout  the  camp;  and  Ethel  inside  her  tent  felt  her 
blood  run  cold  at  the  savage  exultation  which  they 
conveyed. 

She  was  greatly  troubled  by  the  fire,  for  she  saw  that 
it  must  efface  all  signs  of  the  trail,  and  render  the  task 
of  her  friends  long  and  difficult,  and  she  felt  greatly 
depressed  at  what  she  looked  upon  as  a  certain  postpone- 
ment of  her  rescue.  She  lay  thinking  over  all  this  for  a 
long  time,  until  the  camp  had  subsided  into  perfect 
quiet.  Then  the  skins  were  slightly  lifted  near  her 
head,  and  she  heard  a  voice  whisper: 

"Me,  Tawaina — friend.  Great  chief  com  e  to  look  for 
girl.  Two  trails — eyes  blinded.  Tawaina  make  sign — 
point  way.  Give  piece  dress  that  great  chief  may 
believe." 

Ethel  at  once  understood.  She  cautiously  tore  off  a 
narrow  strip  from  the  bottom  of  her  dress,  and  put  it 
under  the  skin  to  the  speaker. 

"Good,"  he  said.     "Tawaina  friend.     Ethel,  hope." 

Greatly  relieved  by  knowing  that  a  clew  would  be  now 
given  to  her  friends,  and  overpowered  by  fatigue,  Ethel 
was  very  shortly  fast  asleep. 

At  daybreak  they  set  off  again,  having  thus  thirty 
hours'  start  of  their  pursuers.  They  traveled  six  hours, 
rested  from  eleven  till  three,  and  then  traveled  again 
until  dark.  Occasionally  a  sheep  lagged  behind,  foot- 
sore and  weary.  He  was  instantly  killed  and  cut  up. 

For  four  days  was  their  rate  of  traveling,  which 
amounted  to  upward  of  fifty  miles  a  day,  continued, 
and  they  arrived,  as  has  been  said,  the  last  evening  at 
their  village. 

During  all  this  time  Ethel  was  treated  with  courtesy 


248  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

and  respect.  The  best  portion  of  the  food  was  put  asicfo 
for  her,  the  little  tent  of  skins  was  always  erected  at 
night,  and  no  apparent  watch  was  kept  over  her  move- 
ments. 

The  next  morning  she  was  awake  early,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  terrible  situation  in  which  she  was 
placed  she  would  have  been  amused  by  the  busy  stir  in 
the  village,  and  by  the  little  copper-colored  urchins  at 
play,  or  going  out  with  the  women  to  collect  wood  or 
fetch  water.  There  was  nothing  to  prevent  Ethel  from 
going  out  among  them,  but  the  looks  of  scowling  hatred 
which  they  cast  at  her  made  her  draw  back  again  into 
the  hut,  after  a  long,  anxious  look  around. 

It  was  relief  at  least  to  have  halted,  great  as  her 
danger  undoubtedly  was.  She  felt  certain  now  that 
hour  by  hour  her  father  must  be  approaching.  He 
might  even  now  be  within  a  few  miles.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  fire,  she  was  certain  that  he  would  already  have 
been  up,  but  she  could  not  tell  how  long  he  might  have 
been  before  he  recovered  the  trail. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  day  two  or  three  Indiana 
might  have  been  seen  going  through  the  village,  sum- 
moning those  whose  position  and  rank  entitled  them  to 
a  place  at  the  council. 

Soon  they  were  seen  approaching,  and  taking  their 
seats  gravely  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  hut  of  the 
principal  chief.  The  women,  the  youths,  and  such  men 
as  had  not  as  yet  by  their  feats  in  battle  distinguished 
themselves  sufficiently  to  be  summoned  to  the  council, 
assembled  at  a  short  distance  off.  The  council  sat  in 
the  form  of  a  circle,  the  inner  ring  being  formed  of  the 
elder  and  leading  men  of  the  tribe,  while  the  warriors 
sat  round  them. 

Struck  by  the  hush  which  had  suddenly  succeeded  to 
the  noise  of  the  village,  Ethel  again  went  to  the  door. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  249 

She  was  greatly  struck  by  the  scene,  and  was  looking 
wonderingly  at  it,  when  she  felt  a  touch  on  her  shoulder, 
and  on  looking  round  saw  the  Fawn  gazing  pityingly  at 
her,  and  at  the  same  time  signing  to  her  to  come  in. 

The  truth  at  once  flashed  across  Ethel's  inind.  The 
council  had  met  to  decide  her  fate,  and  she  did  not 
doubt  for  a  moment  what  that  decision  would  be.  She 
felt  that  all  hope  was  over,  and  retiring  into  the  hut 
passed  the  time  in  prayer  and  in  preparation  for  the 
fearful  ordeal  which  was  at  hand. 

After  the  council  had  met  there  was  a  pause  of  expec- 
tation, and  the  Stag  then  rose. 

';My  brothers,  my  heart  is  very  glad.  The  Great 
Spirit  has  ceased  to  frown  upon  his  children.  Twice  we 
went  out,  and  twice  returned  empty-handed,  while 
many  of  our  lodges  were  empty.  The  guns  which  shoot 
without  loading  were  too  strong  for  us,  and  we  returned 
sorrowful.  Last  year  we  did  not  go  out;  the  hearts  of 
our  braves  were  heavy.  This  year  we  said  perhaps  the 
Great  Spirit  will  no  longer  be  angry  with  his  children, 
and  we  went  out.  This  time  we  have  not  returned 
empty-handed.  The  lowing  of  cattle  is  in  my  ear,  and  I 
see  many  sheep.  The  white  men  have  felt  the  strength  of 
our  arms;  and  of  the  young  men  who  went  out  with  me 
there  is  not  one  missing.  Best  of  all,  we  have  brought 
back  a  captive,  the  daughter  of  the  white  chief  of  the 
flying  fires  and  the  guns  which  load  themselves.  Let  me 
hand  her  over  to  our  women;  they  will  know  how  to 
make  her  cry;  and  we  will  send  her  head  to  the  white 
chief,  to  show  that  his  guns  cannot  reach  to  the  Indian 
country.  Have  I  spoken  well?" 

A  murmur  of  assent  followed  the  chief's  speech;  and 
supposing  that  no  more  would  be  said  upon  the  matter, 
the  Stag  was  about  to  declare  the  council  closed,  when 
an  Indian  sitting  in  the  inner  circle  rose. 


£50  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

"My  brothers,  I  will  tell  you  a  story.  The  birds  once 
went  out  to  attack  the  nest  of  an  eagle,  but  the  eagle 
was  too  strong  for  them;  and  when  all  had  gone  he 
went  out  from  his  nest  with  his  children,  the  young 
eagles,  and  he  found  the  raven  and  two  other  birds  hurt 
and  unable  to  fly,  and  instead  of  killing  them,  as  they 
might  have  done,  the  eagles  took  them  up  to  their  nest, 
and  nursed  them  and  tended  them  until  they  were  able 
to  fly,  and  then  sent  them  home  to  their  other  birds. 
So  was  it  with  Tawaina  and  his  two  friends."  And  the 
speaker  indicated  with  his  arm  two  Indians  sitting  at 
the  outer  edge  of  the  circle.  "Tawaina  fell  at  the  fence 
where  so  many  of  us  fell,  and  in  the  morning  the  white 
men  took  him  and  gave  him  water,  and  placed  him  in 
shelter,  and  bandaged  his  wound;  and  the  little  White 
Bird  and  her  sister  brought  him  food  and  cool  drinks 
every  day  and  looked  pitifully  at  him.  But  Tawaina  said 
to  himself,  The  white  men  are  only  curing  Tawaina 
that  when  the  time  comes  they  may  see  how  an  Indian 
can  die.  But  when  he  was  well  they  brought  horses, 
and  put  a  bow  and  arrows  into  our  handstand  bade  us  go 
free.  It  is  only  in  the  battle  that  the  great  white  chief 
is  terrible.  He  has  a  great  heart.  The  enemies  he 
killed  he  did  not  triumph  over.  He  laid  them  in  a  great 
grave.  He  honored  them,  and  planted  trees  with  droop- 
ing leaves  at  their  head  and  at  their  feet,  and  put  a  fence 
round  that  the  foxes  might  not  touch  their  bones.  Shall 
the  Indian  be  less  generous  than  the  white  man?  Even 
those  taken  in  battle  they  spared  and  sent  home.  Shall 
we  kill  the  White  Bird  captured  in  her  nest?  My 
brothers  will  not  do  so.  They  will  send  back  the  White 
Bird  to  the  great  white  chief.  Have  I  spoken  well?" 

This  time  a  confused  murmu  ran  round  the  circle. 
Some  of  the  younger  men  were  struck  with  this  appeal 
to  their  generosity,  and  were  in  favor  of  the  Raven's 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

proposition;  the  elder  and  more  ferocious  Indians  were 
altogether  opposed  to  it. 

Speaker  succeeded  speaker,  some  urging  one  side  of 
the  question,  some  the  other. 

At  last  the  Stag  again  rose.  "My  brothers,"  he  said, 
"my  ears  have  heard  strange  words,  and  my  spirit  is 
troubled.  The  Eaven  has  told  us  of  the  ways  of  the 
whites  after  a  battle;  but  the  Indians'  ways  are  not  as 
the  whites'  ways,  and  the  Stag  is  too  old  to  learn  new 
fashions.  He  looks  round,  he  sees  many  lodges  empty, 
he  sees  many  women  who  have  no  husbands  to  hunt 
game,  he  hears  the  voices  of  children  who  cry  for  meat. 
He  remembers  his  brothers  who  fell  before  the  flying  fire 
and  the  guns  which  loaded  themselves,  and  his  eyes  are 
full  of  blood.  The  great  white  chief  has  made  many 
wigwams  desolate:  let  there  be  mourning  in  the  house 
of  the  white  chief.  Have  I  spoken  well?" 

The  acclamations  which  followed  this  speech  were  so 
loud  and  general  that  the  party  of  the  Raven  was 
silenced,  and  the  council  at  once  broke  up. 

A  cry  of  exultation  broke  from  the  women  when  they 
heard  the  decision,  and  all  prepared  for  the  work  of 
vengeance  before  them. 

At  a  signal  from  the  Stag  two  of  the  young  Indians 
went  to  the  hut  and  summoned  Ethel  to  accompany 
them.  She  guessed  at  once  that  her  death  was  decided 
upon  and,  pale  as  marble,  but  uttering  no  cry  or  entreaty, 
which  she  knew  would  be  useless,  she  walked  between 
them. 

For  a  moment  she  glanced  at  the  women  around  her, 
to  see  if  there  was  one  look  of  pity  or  interest;  but  faces 
distorted  with  hate  and  exultation  met  her  eyes,  and 
threats  and  imprecations  assailed  her  ears.  The  sight, 
though  it  appalled,  yet  nerved  her  with  courage.  A 
pitying  look  would  have  melted  her — this  rage  against 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

one  so  helpless  as  herself  nerved  her;  and,  with  her  eyes 
turned  upward  and  her  lips  moving  in  prayer,  she  kept 
along. 

The  Indians  led  her  to  a  tree  opposite  the  center  of 
the  village,  bound  her  securely  to  it,  and  then  retired. 

There  was  a  pause  before  the  tragedy  was  to  begin. 
Some  of  the  women  brought  fagots  for  the  pile,  others 
cut  splinters  to  thrust  under  the  nails  and  into  the  flesh. 
The  old  women  chattered  and  exulted  over  the  tortures 
they  would  inflict;  a  few  of  the  younger  ones  stood  aloof, 
looking  on  pityingly. 

The  men  of  the  tribe  gathered  in  a  circle,  but  took  no 
part  in  the  preparations— the  torture  of  women  was 
beneath  them. 

At  last  all  was  ready.  A  fire  was  lit  near;  the  hags 
lit  their  firebrands  and  advanced.  The  chief  gave  the 
signal,  and  with  a  yell  of  exultation  they  rushed  upon 
their  victim,  but  fell  back  with  a  cry  of  surprise,  rudely 
thrust  off  by  three  Indians  who  placed  themselves  before 
the  captive. 

The  women  retreated  hastily,  and  the  men  advanced 
to  know  the  reason  of  this  strange  interruption.  The 
Raven  and  his  companions  were  unarmed.  The  Indiana 
frowned  upon  them,  uncertain  what  course  to  pursue. 

"My  brothers/'  the  Raven  said,  "I  am  come  to  die. 
The  Raven's  time  is  come.  He  has  flown  his  last  flight. 
He  and  his  brothers  will  die  with  the  little  White  Bird. 
The  Raven  and  his  friends  are  not  dogs.  They  have 
shed  their  blood  against  their  enemies,  and  they  do  not 
know  how  to  cry  out.  But  their  time  has  come,  they 
are  ready  to  die.  But  they  must  die  before  the  little 
White  Bird.  If  not,  her  spirit  will  fly  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  and  will  tell  him  that  the  Raven  and  his  friends, 
whom  she  had  sheltered  and  rescued,  had  helped  to  kill 
her;  and  the  Great  Spirit  would  shut  the  gates  of  the 


OU2  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  253 

happy  hunting  grounds  against  them.     The  Raven  has 
spoken." 

There  was  a  pause  of  extreme  astonishment,  followed 
"by  a  clamor  of  voices.  Those  who  had  before  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  Raven  again  spoke  out  loudly,  while 
many  of  the  others  hesitated  as  to  the  course  to  be 
pursued. 

The  Stag  hastily  consulted  with  two  or  three  of  his 
principal  advisers,  and  then  moved  forward,  waving  his 
hand  to  command  silence.  His  countenance  was  calm 
and  unmoved,  although  inwardly  he  was  boiling  with 
rage  at  this  defiance  of  his  authority.  He  was  too  politic 
a  chief,  however  to  show  this.  He  knew  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  tribe  was  with  him;  yet  the  employment 
of  force  to  drag  the  Raven  and  his  companions  from 
their  post  would  probably  create  a  division  in  the  tribe, 
the  final  results  of  which  none  could  see,  and  for  the 
consequences  of  which  he  would,  in  case  of  any  reverse, 
be  held  responsible  and  looked  upon  with  disapproval  by 
both  parties. 

"The  Ravens  and  his  friends  have  great  hearts,"  he 
said  courteously.  "They  are  large  enough  to  shelter  the 
little  White  Bird.  Let  them  take  her.  Her  life  is 
spared.  She  shall  remain  with  our  tribe." 

The  Raven  inclined  his  head,  and  taking  a  knife  from 
a  warrior  near,  he  cut  the  cords  which  bound  Ethel,  and 
beckoning  to  the  Fawn,  handed  the  astonished  girl  again 
into  her  charge  saying  as  he  did  so,  "Stop  in  hut.  Not 
go  out;  go  out,  bad."  And  then,  accompanied  by  his 
friends,  he  retired  without  a  word  to  one  of  their  huts. 

A  perfect  stillness  had  hung  over  the  crowd  during 
this  scene;  but  when  it  became  known  that  Ethel  was  to 
go  off  unscathed  a  murmur  broke  out  from  the  elder 
females,  disappointed  in  their  work  of  vengeance.  But 
the  Stag  waved  his  hand  peremptorily,  and  the  crowd 


254  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

scattered  silently  to  their  huts,  to  talk  over  the  unusual 
scene  that  had  taken  place. 

The  Raven  and  his  friends  talked  long  and  earnestly 
together.  They  were  in  no  way  deceived  by  the  appear- 
ance of  friendliness  which  the  Stag  had  assumed.  They 
knew  that  henceforth  there  was  bitter  hatred  between 
them,  and  that  their  very  lives  were  insecure.  As  to 
Ethel,  it  was,  they  knew,  only  a  short  reprieve  which 
had  been  granted  her.  The  Stag  would  not  risk  a  divi- 
sion in  the  tribe  for  her  sake,  nor  would  attempt  to  bring 
her  to  a  formal  execution;  but  the  first  time  she  wan- 
dered from  the  hut  she  would  be  found  dead  with  a 
knife  in  her  heart. 

The  Raven,  however,  felt  certain  that  help  was  at 
hand.  He  and  his  friends,  who  knew  Mr.  Hardy,  were 
alone  of  the  tribe  convinced  that  a  pursuit  would  be 
attempted.  The  fact  that  no  such  attempt  to  penetrate 
into  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country  had  ever  been  made 
had  lulled  the  rest  into  a  feeling  of  absolute  security. 
The  Raven,  indeed,  calculated  that  the  pursuers  must 
now  be  closest  hand,  and  that  either  on  that  night  or 
the  next  they  would  probably  enter  the  gorge  and  make 
the  attack. 

The  result  of  the  council  was  that  he  left  his  friends 
and  walked  in  a  leisurely  way  back  to  his  own  hut,  tak- 
ing no  notice  of  the  hostile  glances  which  some  of  tho 
more  violent  of  the  Stag's  supporters  cast  toward  him. 

On  his  entrance  he  was  welcomed  by  his  wife,  a  young 
girl  whom  he  had  only  married  since  his  return  from  the 
expedition,  and  to  whom,  from  what  he  had  learned  of 
the  position  of  women  among  the  whites,  he  allowed 
more  freedom  of  speech  and  action  than  are  usually  per- 
mitted to  Indian  women.  She  had  been  one  of  the  small 
group  who  had  pitied  the  white  girl. 

"The  Raven  is  a  great  chief/'  she  said  proudly;  "he 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  255 

has  done  well.  The  Mouse  trembled,  but  she  was  glad 
to  see  her  lord  stand  forth.  The  Stag  will  strike, 
though,"  she  added  anxiously.  "He  will  look  for  the 
blood  of  the  Raven." 

"The  Stag  is  a  great  beast,"  the  Indian  said  senten- 
tiously;  "but  the  Raven  eat  him  at  last." 

Then,  sitting  down  upon  a  pile  of  skins,  the  chief 
filled  his  pipe,  and  made  signs  to  his  wife  to  bring  fire. 
Then  he  smoked  in  silence  for  some  time  until  the  sun 
went  down,  and  a  thick  darkness  closed  over  the  valley. 

At  length  he  got  up,  and  said  to  his  wife,  "If  they 
ask  for  the  Raven,  say  that  he  has  just  gone  out;  noth- 
ing more.  He  will  not  return  till  daybreak;  and  remem- 
ber," and  he  laid  his  hand  upon  her  arm  to  impress  the 
caution,  "whatever  noise  the  Mouse  hears  in  the  night, 
she  is  not  to  leave  the  hut  till  the  Raven  comes  back  to 
her." 

The  girl  bowed  her  head  with  an  Indian  woman's 
unquestioning  obedience;  and  then,  drawing  aside  the 
skin  which  served  as  a  door,  and  listening  attentively  to 
hear  if  any  one  were  near,  the  Raven  went  out  silently 
into  the  darkness. 


256  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

RESCUED. 

IN  spite  of  their  utmost  efforts  Mr.  Hardy's  party  had 
made  slower  progress  than  they  had  anticipated.  Many 
of  the  horses  had  broken  down  under  fatigue;  and  as 
they  had  no  spare  horses  to  replace  them  as  the  Indians 
had  in  like  case  done  from  those  they  had  driven  off 
from  Mr.  Mercer,  they  were  forced  to  travel  far  more 
slowly  than  at  first.  They  gained  upon  the  Indians, 
however,  as  they  could  tell  by  the  position  of  the  camp- 
ing ground  for  the  night. 

At  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  they 
passed  the  place  their  enemy  had  left  that  morning;  but 
although  they  kept  on  until  long  after  sunset,  many  of 
them  having  led  their  horses  all  day,  they  were  still  more 
than  thirty  miles  away  from  the  mountains  among  which 
they  knew  that  the  Indian  village  was  situated. 

None  of  the  Guachos  had  ever  been  there,  but  they 
knew  its  situation  and  general  features  by  report. 
There  had  been  no  difficulty  in  following  the  trail  since 
they  had  struck  it.  The  broad  line  of  trodden  ground 
and  the  frequent  carcasses  of  sheep  sufficiently  told  the 
tale. 

That  was  a  night  of  terrible  anxiety  to  all.  They 
knew  that  already  Ethel  was  in  the  Indian  village,  and 
they  thought  with  a  sickening  dread  of  what  might 
happen  the  next  day.  Nothing,  however,  could  be  done. 
Many  of  the  party  were  already  exhausted  by  their 


OU1  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  257 

long  day's  walk  under  a  burning  sun.  It  was  altogether 
impossible  to  reach  the  village  that  night. 

Before  lying  down  for  the  night,  Mr.  Hardy  asked  all 
the  party  to  join  in  a  prayer  for  the  preservation  of  his 
daughter  during  the  following  day;  and  it  was  a  strange 
and  impressing  sight  to  see  the  group  of  sunburned, 
travel-worn  men  standing  uncovered  while  their  leader 
offered  up  an  earnest  prayer. 

Mr.  Hardy  then  said  for  that  night  it  was  unnecessary 
to  keep  watch  as  usual.  The  Indians  had  pushed  on  and 
could  no  longer  dread  pursuit,  and  therefore  there  was 
no  risk  of  a  night  attack.  Besides  which,  there  was 
little  chance  of  his  sleeping.  This  proposition  was  a 
most  acceptable  one,  and  in  a  very  short  time  a  perfect 
silence  reigned  in  the  camp. 

Before  daybreak  they  were  again  on  the  march,  all  on 
foot  and  leading  their  horses,  in  order  to  spare  them  as 
much  as  possible  should  they  be  required  at  night. 
Speed  was  now  no  object.  It  was,  they  knew,  hopeless 
to  attack  in  broad  daylight,  as  the  Indians  would  be 
probably  more  than  a  match  for  them,  and  Ethel's  life 
would  be  inevitably  sacrificed.  They  walked,  there- 
fore, until  within  six  or  seven  miles  of  the  gorge,  nearer 
than  which  they  dared  not  go,  lest  they  might  be  seen 
by  any  straggling  Indian. 

Their  halting-place  was  determined  by  finding  a 
stream  with  an  abundance  of  fresh  grass  on  its  banks. 
They  dared  not  light  a  fire,  but  chewed  some  of  the 
tough  charqui,  and  watched  the  distant  cleft  in  the  hills 
which  led  to  the  ardently  wished-for  goal. 

As  evening  fell  they  were  all  in  the  saddle,  and  were 
pleased  to  find  that  the  horses  were  decidedly  fresher  for 
their  rest.  They  did  not  draw  rein  until  the  ground 
became  stony,  and  they  knew  that  they  must  be  at  the 
mouth  of  the  gorge.  Then  they  dismounted  and 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

picketed  the  horses.  Two  of  the  Guachoswere  stationed 
with  them  as  guards,  and  the  rest  went  stealthily 
forward — the  rockets  being  intrusted  to  the  care  of 
Terence,  who  fastened  them  tightly  together  with  a 
cord,  and  then  hung  them  by  a  loop,  like  a  gun,  over  his 
shoulder,  in  order  that  he  might  have  his  hands  free. 

It  was  still  only  eight  o'clock — dangerously  early  for 
a  surprise;  but  the  whole  party  were  quite  agreed  to  risk 
everything,  as  no  one  could  say  in  what  position  Ethel 
might  be  placed,  and  what  difference  an  hour  might 
make.  Their  plan  was  to  steal  quietly  up  to  the  first 
hut  they  found,  to  gag  its  inmates,  and  compel  one  of 
them,  under  a  threat  of  instant  death,  to  guide  them  to 
the  hut  in  which  Ethel  was  placed. 

Suddenly  Mr.  Hardy  was  startled  by  a  dark  figure 
rising  from  a  rock  against  which  he  had  almost  stum- 
bled, with  the  words:  "White  man  good.  Tawaina 
friend.  Come  to  take  him  to  child." 

Then  followed  a  few  hurried  questions;  and  no  words 
can  express  the  delight  and  gratitude  of  Mr.  Hardy  and 
his  sons,  and  the  intense  satisfaction  of  the  others,  on 
finding  that  Ethel  was  alive  and  for  the  present  free 
from  danger. 

It  was  agreed  to  wait  now  for  two  hours,  to  give  time 
for  the  Indians  to  retire  to  rest;  and  while  they  waited 
the  Raven  told  them  all  that  had  happened  up  to  the 
arrival  at  the  village,  passing  over  the  last  day's  pro- 
ceedings by  saying  briefly  that  Ethel  had  run  a  great 
risk  of  being  put  to  death,  but  that  a  delay  had  been 
obtained  by  her  friends.  Having  told  his  story,  he  said, 
"Tawaina  friend  to  great  white  chief.  Gave  signal  with 
arrow;  save  little  White  Bird  to-day.  But  Tawaina 
Indian — not  like  see  Indian  killed.  White  chief  promise 
not  kill  Indian  women  and  children?" 

Mr.  Hardy  assured  the  Indian  that  they  had  no 
thought  of  killing  women  and  children. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  259 

"If  can  take  little  White  Bird  without  waking  village, 
not  kill  men?"  Tawaina  asked  again. 

"We  do  not  want  to  wake  the  village  if  we  can  help  it, 
Tawaina;  but  I  do  not  see  any  chance  of  escaping  with- 
out a  fight.  Our  horses  are  all  dead  beat,  and  the 
Indians  will  easily  overtake  us,  even  if  we  get  a  night's 
start." 

"Mustn't  go  out  on  plain,"  the  Raven  said  earnestly. 
"If  go  out  on  plain,  all  killed.  Indian  two  hundred 
and  fifty  braves— eat  up  white  men  on  plain." 

"I  am  afraid  that  is  true  enough,  Tawaina,  though  we 
shall  prove  very  tough  morsels.  Still  we  should  fight  at 
a  fearful  disadvantage  in  the  open.  But  what  are  we 
to  do?" 

"Come  back  to  mouth  of  cafion — hold  that;  can  keep 
Indians  off  as  long  as  like.  Indians  have  to  make 
peace." 

"Capital!"  Mr.  Hardy  said  delightedly;  for  he  had 
reviewed  the  position  with  great  apprehension,  as  he  had 
not  seen  how  it  would  be  possible  to  make  good  their 
retreat  on  their  tired  horses  in  the  teeth  of  the  Indians. 
"The  very  thing!  As  you  say,  we  can  hold  the  gorge 
for  a  month  if  necessary,  and  sooner  or  later  they  will 
be  sick  of  it,  and  agree  to  let  us  retreat  in  quiet.  Be- 
sides, a  week's  rest  would  set  our  horses  up  again,  and 
then  we  could  make  our  retreat  in  spite  of  them," 

"One  more  thing,"  the  Raven  said.  "When  great 
chief  got  little  White  Bird  safe,  Tawaina  go  away — not 
fight  one^way,  not  fight  other  way.  When  meet  again, 
white  chief  not  talk  about  to-night.  Not  great  Indian 
know  Tawaina  white  chief's  friend." 

"You  can  rely  upon  us  all,  Tawaina.  They  shall  never 
learn  from  us  of  your  share  in  this  affair.  And  now  I 
think  that  it  is  time  for  us  to  be  moving  forward.  It 
will  be  past  ten  o'clock  before  we  are  there. ?> 


260  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Very  quietly  the  troop  crept  along,  Tawaina  leading 
the  way,  until  he  approached  closely  to  the  village,, 
Here  they  halted  for  a  moment. 

"Only  six  of  us  will  go  in,"  Mr.  Hardy  said;  "there 
will  be  less  chance  of  detection — Jamieson,  Percy,  Her- 
ries,  my  boys,  and  myself.  The  others  take  post  close 
to  the  hut  we  see  ahead.  If  you  find  that  we  are  discov- 
ered, be  in  readiness  to  support  us.  And,  Farquhar, 
two  or  three  of  you  get  matches  ready,  and  stick  a  blue 
light  into  the  straw  roof  of  the  hut.  We  must  have 
light,  or  we  lose  all  the  advantage  of  our  firearms.  Be- 
sides, as  we  retreat  we  shall  be  in  darkness,  while  they 
will  be  in  the  glare." 

Thus  speaking,  Mr.  Hardy  followed  his  guide,  the 
men  he  had  selected  treading  cautiously  in  his  rear. 
Presently  they  stopped  before  one  of  the  huts,  and 
pointing  to  the  door,  Tawaina  said,  "Little  White  Bird 
there;"  and  then  gliding  away,  he  was  lost  in  the 
darkness. 

Mr.  Hardy  cautiously  pushed  aside  the  skin  and 
entered,  followed  by  his  friends.  It  was  perfectly  dark, 
and  they  stood  for  a  moment  uncertain  what  to  do. 
Then  they  heard  a  low  voice  saying,  "Papa,  is  that  you?" 
while  at  the  same  instant  they  saw  a  gleam  of  light  in 
the  other  corner  of  the  tent,  and  heard  a  rustling  noise, 
and  they  knew  that  an  Indian  had  cut  a  slit  in  the  hide 
walls  and  had  escaped;  and  as  Mr.  Hardy  pressed  his 
child  to  his  heart,  a  terrific  war-whoop  rose  on  the  air 
behind  the  hut. 

"Come,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "keep  together,  and  make 
a  run  of  it." 

Ethel  had  lain  down  without  taking  off  even  her  shoes, 
so  strong  had  been  her  hope  of  her  father's  arrival.  She 
was  therefore  no  impediment  to  the  speed  of  their 
retreat.  For  a  short  distance  they  were  unopposed. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  261 

The  Indians,  indeed,  rushed  from  thek  huts  like  swarms 
of  bees  disturbed  by  an  intruder.  Ignorant  of  the 
nature  of  the  danger,  and  unable  to  see  its  cause,  all  was 
for  a  minute  wild  confusion;  and  then  guided  by  the 
war-whoop  of  the  Indian  who  had  given  the  alarm,  all 
hurried  toward  the  spot,  and  as  they  did  so,  several  saw 
the  little  party  of  whites.  Loud  whoops  gave  the  inti- 
mation of  this  discovery  and  a  rush  toward  them  was 
made. 

"Now,  your  revolvers/'  Mr.  Hardy  said.  "We  are 
nearly  out  of  the  village." 

Not  as  yet,  however,  were  the  Indians  gathered  thickly 
enough  to  stop  them.  A  few  who  attempted  to  throw 
themselves  in  the  way  were  instantly  shot  down,  and  in 
less  time  than  it  has  occupied  to  read  this  description 
they  reached  the  end  of  the  village.  As  they  did  so  a 
bright  flame  shot  up  from  the  furthest  hut,  and  the  rest 
of  the  party  rushed  out  and  joined  them.  The  Indians 
in  pursuit  paused  at  seeing  this  fresh  accession  of 
strength  to  their  enemies,  and  then,  as  they  were  joined 
by  large  numbers,  and  the  flame  shooting  up  brightly 
enabled  them  to  see  how  small  was  the  body  of  whites, 
they  rushed  forward  again  with  fierce  yells. 

But  the  whites  were  by  this  time  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  away,  and  were  already  disappearing  in  the  gloom. 

"Stop!"  Mr.  Hardy  cried.  "Steady  with  your  rifles! 
Each  man  single  out  an  Indian.  Fire!" 

A  yell  of  rage  broke  from  the  Indians  as  fourteen  or 
fifteen  of  their  number  fell,  and  a  momentary  pause 
took  place  again.  And  then,  as  they  were  again  rein- 
forced, they  continued  the  pursuit. 

But  the  two  hundred  yards  which  the  whites  had 
gained  was  a  long  start  in  the  half  a  mile's  distance  to 
be  traversed,  and  the  whites  well  knew  that  they  were 
running  for  their  lives;  for  once  surrounded  in  the  plain, 
their  case  was  hopeless. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Well  was  it,  then,  that  Ethel  was  so  accustomed  to  an 
out-of-door  life.  Hope  and  fear  lent  speed  to  to  her 
feet,  and  running  between  her  father  and  brothers,  she 
was  able  to  keep  up  a  speed  equal  to  their  own. 

Scarce  a  word  was  spoken,  as  with  clinched  teeth  and 
beating  hearts  they  dashed  along.  Only  once  Mr. 
Jamieson  said,  "Can  Ethel  keep  up?"  and  she  gasped 
out  "Yes." 

The  whites  had  this  great  advantage  in  the  race,  that 
they  knew  that  they  had  only  half  a  mile  in  all  to  run, 
and  therefore  put  out  their  best  speed;  whereas,  although 
a  few  of  the  Indians  saw  the  importance  of  overtaking  the 
fugitives  on  the  plain,  the  greater  portion  believed  that 
their  prey  was  safe  in  their  hands,  and  made  no  great  effort 
to  close  with  them  at  once.  The  whites,  too,  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  accustomed  to  walking  exercise,  whereas 
the  Indians,  almost  living  on  horseback,  are  seldom  in 
the  habit  of  using  their  feet.  Consequently  the  whites 
reached  the  narrow  mouth  of  the  gorge  a  full  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  ahead  of  the  main  body  of  the  pursuers, 
although  a  party  of  their  fastest  runners  was  not  more 
than  half  that  distance  in  their  rear. 

There  was  a  general  ejaculation  of  thankfulness  as  the 
parties  now  halted  and  turned  to  face  the  enemy. 

It  was  now  that  the  full  advantage  of  Mr.  Hardy's 
precaution  of  firing  the  Indian  hut  had  become  manifest. 

The  fire  had  communicated  to  the  next  two  or  three 
dwellings,  and  a  broad  flame  rose  up,  against  the  glare  of 
which  the  Indians  stood  out  distinctly,  while  the  whites 
were  posted  in  deep  gloom. 

"Now,  boys,"  Mr.  Hardy  said,  "pick  off  the  first  lot 
with  your  carbines,  while  we  load  our  rifles.  Ethel,  get 
behind  that  rock.  Take  shelter  all  till  the  last  moment. 
The  arrows  will  soon  be  among  us." 

Steadily  as  if  firing  at  a  mark  the  boys  discharged 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  263 

their  five  shorts  each;. and  as  the  enemy  was  not  more 
than  fifty  yards  off,  every  shot  told. 

The  rest  of  the  leading  band  hesitated,  and  throwing 
themselves  down,  waited  until  the  others  came  up. 
There  was  a  momentary  pause,  then  a  volley  of  arrows 
and  musket  balls  was  discharged  in  the  direction  of  their 
hidden  foe,  and  then,  with  a  wild  yell,  the  whole  mass 
charged. 

Not  till  they  were  within  thirty  yards  was  there  a 
return  shot  fired;  but  as  they  entered  the  narrow  gorge, 
the  whites  leaped  to  their  feet  with  a  cheer,  and  poured 
in  a  volley  from  twenty-four  rifles. 

The  effect  was  terrible;  and  those  in  front  who  were 
unwounded  hesitated,  but,  pressed  on  from  behind,  they 
again  rushed  forward.  Then,  as  they  closed,  a  desperate 
combat  began. 

The  boys  had  hastily  handed  their  carbines  to  Ethel  to 
fit  in  the  spare  chamber,  and  had  taken  their  place  by 
their  father's  side.  The  gorge  was  so  narrow  that  there 
was  not  room  to  stand  abreast,  and  by  previous  arrange- 
ment those  who  had  no  revolvers  placed  themselves  in 
front,  clubbing  their  rifles,  while  those  with  revolvers 
fired  between  them. 

Mr.  Percy,  one  of  the  Jamiesons,  and  Herries  stood  a 
pace  or  two  in  the  rear,  with  their  revolvers  in  hand,  as 
a  reserve. 

For  a  few  minutes  the  contest  was  terrific.  The  rush 
of  the  Indians  partially  broke  the  line,  and  the  whirl  of 
gleaming  hatchets,  the  heavy  crash  of  the  blows  with 
the  rifles,  the  sharp  incessant  cracks  of  the  revolvers, 
the  yells  of  the  Indians,  the  short  shouts  of  encourage- 
ment from  the  English,  and  the  occasional  Irish  cry  of 
Terence,  made  up  a  total  of  confusion  and  noise  which 
was  bewildering. 

Scarce  a  shot  of  the  whites  was  thrown  away,  and  a 
heap  of  dead  lay  across  the  pass. 


264  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Still  the  Indians  pressed  on. 

The  fight  was  more  silent  now,  the  cracks  of  the 
revolvers  had  ceased,  and  the  whites  were  fighting 
silently  and  desperately  with  their  rifles.  They  had  not 
given  way  a  foot,  but  the  short  panting  breath  told  that 
the  tremendous  exertion  was  telling,  as  they  stood  in  a 
line  at  short  intervals,  and  their  weapons  rose  and  fell 
with  a  force  and  might  that  the  Indian  hatchets  could 
seldom  stem  or  avert. 

Not  bloodless  on  their  part  had  the  fight  been  up  to 
this  time.  Most  of  them  had  received  gashes  more  or 
less  severe,  and  Martinez  the  Guacho  and  Cook  lay  dead 
at  their  feet. 

Charley  and  Hubert,  upon  emptying  their  revolvers, 
had  fallen  back  and  taken  their  carbines,  and  now  stood 
with  the  reserve  upon  a  flat  rock  a  few  paces  in  the  rear, 
all  burning  with  impatience  to  take  part  in  the  strife. 

At  this  moment  they  were  joined  by  the  two  Guachos 
who  had  been  left  with  the  horses,  but  who  now,  hear- 
ing the  firing,  had  arrived  to  take  part  in  the  fray. 

At  last  Mr.  Hardy  judged  that  the  time  had  come, 
and  shouted: 

"Take  aim  into  the  middle  of  the  mass,  and  fire  as 
quick  as  you  can,  then  all  charge  together.  Now!" 

In  less  than  half  a  minute  the  four  barrels  of  the 
Guachos'  guns,  and  the  thirty  shots  from  the  revolvers, 
had  been  discharged  into  the  densely  packed  throng; 
then  the  seven  men  leaped  from  the  rock,  and  with  a 
cheer  the  whites  threw  themselves  upon  the  Indians, 
already  recoiling  and  panic-struck  by  the  tremendous 
and  deadly  fire. 

The  Indians  in  front,  surprised  and  confused,  were 
mown  down  by  the  long  rifles  like  grass  before  the 
mower,  and  those  behind,  after  one  moment's  hesitation, 
broke  and  fled;  in  another  two  minutes  the  fight  was 
over,  and  the  Indians  iu  full  flight  to  their  village. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  265 

After  a  few  words  of  hearty  congratulation  the  whites 
threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  panting  and  exhausted, 
after  their  tremendous  exertions. 

Their  first  care,  upon  recovering  a  little,  was  to  load 
their  revolvers;  as  for  the  rifles,  there  was  not  one,  with 
the  exception  of  those  of  the  three  men  who  had  formed 
the  reserve,  and  the  boys'  carbines,  which  were  not  dis- 
abled. The  stocks  were  broken,  the  hammers  wrenched 
off,  and  the  barrels  twisted  and  bent. 

The  party  now  crowded  round  Ethel,  with  whom  not 
a  single  word  had  yet  been  exchanged  since  her  rescue, 
and  warm  and  hearty  were  the  congratulations  and  wel- 
come bestowed  upon  her.  There  was  then  an  examina- 
tion of  wounds. 

These  had  been  many,  and  in  some  cases  severe.  Mr. 
Farqnhar  was  completely  disabled  by  a  deep  wound  in 
the  shoulder.  Mr.  Percy  had  received  a  fearful  gash  on 
the  arm.  Charley  had  one  ear  nearly  cut  off,  and  the 
side  of  his  face  laid  completely  open  with  a  sweeping 
blow.  Four  others  were  seriously  wounded,  and  six  had 
less  important  wounds.  All,  however.,  were  too  much 
elated  with  their  success  to  make  anything  but  light  of 
their  hurts. 

"  You  seem  fated  to  have  your  beauty  spoiled,  Charley," 
Mr.  Hardy  said,  as  he  bandaged  up  his  son's  face.  "A 
few  more  fights,  and  you  will  be  as  seasoned  with  scars 
as  any  Chelsea  pensioner." 

Charley  joined  in  the  general  laugh  at  his  own  expense. 

"Yes,  papa,  if  I  go  on  like  this,  I  shall  certainly  get 
rid  of  my  looking-glass." 

"You  have  not  lost  the  rockets,  I  hope,  Terence?" 
Mr.  Hardy  asked. 

"Sure  and  I've  not,  your  honor.     I  put  them  down 
behind  a  big  rock  before  the  little  shindy  began." 
-    "We  will  fire  them  off,"  Mr.  Hardy  said.     "They  will 


OUT  ON  THB  PAMPAS. 

Heighten  the  impression,  and  make  the  Indians  more 
anxious  to  come  to  terms,  when  they  see  that  we  can 
reach  their  village.  We  will  not  let  them  off  all  at  once; 
but  as  we  have  four  of  each  sort,  we  will  send  oil  a  pair 
every  half  hour  or  so,  as  they  may  think,  if  we  fire  them 
all  at  once  and  then  stop,  that  we  have  no  m-ore  leffc. 
We  may  as  well  give  them  a  few  shots,  too,  with  our 
carbines  and  the  rifles  that  remain  serviceable.  They 
will  carry  as  far  as  half  a  mile  if  we  give  them  elevation 
enough,  and  it  is  well  to  impress  them  as  much  as 
possible." 

Mr.  Hardy's  suggestion  was  carried  out.  The  first 
signal  rocket  showed  the  village  crowded  with  Indians, 
over  whose  heads  the  cracked  rocket  slowly  whizzed. 
The  light  of  the  next  rocket  did  not  disclose  a  single 
person,  and  it  was  apparent  that  the  place  was  deserted. 
The  third  rocket  happened  to  strike  one  of  the  roofs, 
and  exploding  there,  set  the  thatch  on  fire. 

"Good!"  Mr.  Percy  said.  "We  shall  have  them  ask- 
ing for  terms  to-morrow." 

Four  of  the  unwounded  men  were  now  placed  as  a 
guard  at  the  mouth  of  the  gorge,  the  others  retiring 
further  into  it,  so  as  to  be  beyond  the  dead  Indians,  who 
lay  there  literally  in  piles. 

The  morning  broke  over  the  white  men  occupied  in 
the  burial  of  their  two  fallen  companions,  and  upon  the 
Indians  assembled  at  a  short  distance  beyond  the  village. 
The  men  sat  upon  the  ground  in  sullen  despair;  the 
women  wailed  and  wrung  their  hands. 

Now  that  it  was  day,  they  could  see  how  terrible  had 
been  their  loss.  Upward  of  sixty  of  their  number  were 
missing.  The  Stag  had  fallen,  as  had  several  of  the 
most  valiant  braves  of  the  tribe. 

Presently  the  Raven  rose  from  the  midst  of  the  war- 
riors. His  absence  the  preceding  evening  had  not  bean, 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  26? 

noticed;  and  although  all  knew  that  he  had  "taken  no 
part  in  the  fight,  this  was  considered  natural  enough, 
v/hen  his  advice  to  give  up  the  captive  had  been  rejected. 

"My  brothers,"  he  began,  "the  Great  Spirit  is  very 
angry.  He  has  hidden  his  face  from  his  children. 
Yesterday  he  blinded  their  eyes  and  made  them  foolish; 
last  night  he  made  them  as  water  before  the  white  men. 
Why  were  the  ears  of  the  chiefs  closed  to  the  words  of 
the  Raven?  If  the  Raven  had  set  out  with  the  little 
White  Bird,  the  great  white  chief  would  have  been  glad, 
and  the  hatchet  would  have  been  buried  in  peace.  But 
the  chiefs  would  not  hear  the  words  of  the  Raven.  The 
Stag  said,  Kill!  and  the  war  chiefs  shouted,  Kill!  and 
where  are  they  now?  Their  wigwams  are  empty,  and 
their  women  have  none  to  bring  in  the  deer  for  food. 
The  Great  Spirit  is  angry." 

The  Raven  then  took  his  seat;  but,  as  he  anticipated, 
no  one  rose  to  speak  after  him.  The  depression  was  too 
general;  and  the  fact  that,  had  the  Raven's  advice  been 
followed,  the  evils  would  have  been  avoided,  was  too 
manifest  for  any  one  to  attempt  to  utter  a  word. 

After  a  profound  silence  of  some  minutes'  duration, 
the  Raven  again  rose. 

"What  will  my  brothers  do?  The  flying  fires  will 
burn  down  our  village,  and  there  is  no  retreat.  The 
guns  that  shoot  without  loading  carry  very  far.  We  are 
as  water  before  them.  We  are  in  the  hands  of  the  white 
chief,  and  our  bones  will  feed  the  crows.  What  will  my 
brothers  do?" 

There  was  still  a  profound  silence,  and  then  he  con- 
tinued: "The  Raven  is  a  great  chief,  and  he  will  tell 
them  what  to  do.  The  Raven  has  stood  by  the  side  of 
the  little  White  Bird,  and  the  great  white  chief  will 
listen  to  his  voice.  He  will  say,  Let  there  be  peace 
between  us.  The  men  who  would  have  harmed  the 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

Little  White  Bird  are  dead;  there  is  no  more  cause  of 
quarrel.  Let  us  bury  the  hatchet.  Take  horses  and 
cattle  for  your  journey,  and  forgive  us  if  we  have  done 
v/rong.  If  the  white  men  were  on  the  plains,  the  Raven, 
would  say,  Let  my  young  men  charge;  but  they  hold 
the  pass,  and  the  guns  that  shoot  without  loading  are 
too  strong.  Have  I  spoken  well?*' 

There  was  a  low  murmur  of  applause.  The  feeling 
that  the  position  of  the  white  men  was  impregnable  was 
general;  and  they  all  felt  convinced  that  those  terrible 
enemies  would  devise  some  unknown  scheme  which 
would  end  in  the  total  annihilation  of  the  tribe. 

The  Raven's  proposition  was  therefore  unanimously 
assented  to. 

The  Raven  then  laid  aside  his  arms,  and  attended  by 
six  of  the  principal  chiefs,  carrying  green-  boughs  in 
token  of  amity,  advanced  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
gorge.  Mr.  Hardy,  with  five  of  the  whites,  and  with 
Perez  to  interpret,  advanced  to  meet  him. 

When  the  two  groups  met  the  Raven  commenced 
gravely,  in  the  Indian  language:  "The  white  chief  of 
the  flying  fire  is  mighty,  and  the  Great  Spirit  has  blinded 
his  children.  They  carried  off  the  little  White  Bird,  bub 
they  did  not  harm  her.  Bad  men  would  have  harmed 
her,  but  the  Raven  stood  by  her  side.  The  great  white 
chief  has  taken  back  his  little  White  Bird,  and  he  has 
killed  the  men  whom  the  Great  Spirit  blinded.  Why 
should  there  be  any  more  war?  The  Indians  are  brave; 
they  have  cattle,  and  sheep,  and  water.  They  can  live 
out  of  reach  of  the  white  chiefs  guns,  and  can  fight  if 
the  white  chief  comes  out  against  them.  The  white 
chief  is  strong,  and  he  can  defend  the  pass,  but  he  can- 
not venture  out  to  attack.  They  are  equal.  There  ia 
no  cause  of  quarrel  any  longer.  Let  us  bury  the  hatchet. 
The  white  chief's  young  men  can  take  horses — for  the 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  269 

Indians  have  many — to  take  them  back  to  their  homes. 
They  can  take  cattle  to  eat.  Let  there  be  peace." 

This  address  of  the  Raven  was  a  very  politic  one.  He 
Already  knew  that  Mr.  Hardy  was  willing  fco  grant  terms, 
but  he  wished  to  show  the  other  chiefs  that  he  supported 
the  honor  of  the  tribe  by  boasting  of  their  power  and 
resources,  and  by  making  the  peace  as  upon  equal  terms. 

When  the  Guacho  had  [translated  their  proposal,  Mr. 
Hardy  spoke,  using  the  phraseology  which  would  be 
most  intelligible  to  the  Indians. 

"The  Eaven  is  a  great  chief;  he  has  spoken  wisely. 
The  little  White  Bird  has  sung  in  the  white  chief's  ear 
that  the  Kaven  stood  by  her  side  when  bad  Indiana 
would  have  hurt  herT  The  bad  Indians  are  dead.  The 
Great  Spirit  frowned  upon  them.  The  white  chief  has 
no  quarrel  with  the  Raven  and  his  friends.  Let  there 
be  peace." 

A  general  expression  of  satisfaction  pervaded  both 
pafties  when  it  was  known  that  peace  was  arranged; 
and  one  of  each  side  hurrying  back  with  the  news,  the 
rest  went  into  the  village,  where,  sitting  down  before 
the  principal  hut,  the  pipe  of  peace  was  solemnly 
smoked. 

The  two  parties  then  mingled  amicably,  mutually 
pleased  at  the  termination  to  the  hostilities;  and  no  one 
would  have  guessed  that  a  few  hours  before  they  had 
met  in  deadly  strife.  The  Raven  courteously  invited 
the  whites  to  stop  for  a  night  at  the  village;  but  the 
invitation  was  declined,  as  all  were  very  anxious  to 
return  home.  Bancroft  Library 

Some  Indians  were  dispatched  by  the  Raven,  who  had 
now  naturally  assumed  the  position  of  chief  of  the  tribe, 
to  catch  horses  to  take  the  place  of  those  which  had 
broken  down  upon  the  journey.  The  offer  of  cattle  was 
declined,  as  they  were  confident  that  they  should  be  able 


270  OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

to  procure  game.  They  took,  however,  as  large  a  supply 
of  fresh  meat  as  their  horses  could  carry. 

Mr.  Hardy  saw  that  the  Raven  wished  to  avoid  any 
private  conversation  with  him.  He  therefore  drew  the 
boys  aside,  and  made  a  proposal  to  them,  to  which  they 
cordially  agreed. 

As  the  horses  were  brought  up,  and  the  whole  tribe 
assembled,  he  advanced  toward  the  Raven  with  one  of 
the  boys'  carbines  in  his  hand. 

"The  Raven  is  a  great  chief/*  he  said.  "He  has  a 
great  heart,  and  stood  by  the  side  of  the  little  White 
Bird.  But  he  has  not  a  good  rifle.  The  white  chief 
gives  him  a  rifle  which  will  shoot  many  times.  Let  him 
promise  that  lie  will  never  use  it  in  fight  against  the 
white  men." 

This  gift  the  Raven  received  with  great  pleasure,  and 
readily  gave  the  required  promise,  adding,  on  behalf  of 
Ms  tribe,  that  the  hatchet  which  was  buried  should  never 
&gain  be  dug  up  against  the  whites.  An  extra  chamber 
and  all  the  spare  ammunition  was  given  to  him,  and  a 
further  supply  promised  when  he  chose  to  send  for  it; 
instructions  were  also  given  to  him  in  the  use  of  the 
T/eapon,  then  a  solemn  farewell  was  exchanged,  and  the 
party  of  whites  turned  their  facesjoward  home. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AND  LAST. 

WITH  this  memorable  conflict,  and  the  lesson  taught 
to  the  Indians,  that  even  in  the  heart  of  their  own  coun- 
try they  could  not  consider  themselves  secure  from 
retaliations  and  from  the  vengeance  of  the  white  settlers, 
the  Indian  troubles  of  the  Hardys  were  over.  Occasion- 
ally, indeed,  raids  were  made  upon  the  outlying  settle- 
ments, and  the  young  Hardys  were  summoned  to  beat  off 
their  savage  foes.  Upon  the  estate  of  Mount  Pleasant, 
however,  hostile  foot  was  not  again  placed.  Occasion- 
ally the  Raven,  with  two  or  three  of  his  braves,  would 
pay  a  visit  for  a  day  or  two,  and  depart  with  presents  of 
blankets,  and  such  things  as  his  tribe  needed.  Upon 
the  first  of  these  visits  Hubert  questioned  him  respect- 
ing the  bird  whose  remarkable  feather  had  been  the 
means  of  saving  Ethel's  life.  At  his  next  visit  the  chief 
brought  two  very  perfect  skins  of  the  bird.  It  turned 
out,  to  Hubert's  great  delight,  to  be  a  new  species;  and 
one  of  them  is  now,  with  many  other  hitherto  unknown 
birds  which  had  fallen  to  his  gun,  in  the  British  Museum, 
with  the  specific  names  of  Hardiensis,  in  compliment  to 
their  discoverer.  The  Raven's  tribe  honorably  per- 
formed their  agreement  with  Mr.  Hardy,  and  never 
joined  in  any  subsequent  attacks  upon  the  whites. 
Being  much  weakened  by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  their 
fighting  men,  they  would  probably  have  been  extermi- 
nated by  hostile  tribes;  but  Mr.  Hardy  subsequently  fur- 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

nished  them  with  a  supply  of  military  muskets,  which 
he  had  bought  chiefly  for  the  purpose,  together  with 
ammunition,  and  they  were  then  able  to  oppose  a  reso- 
lute front  to  their  enemies,  and  to  support  themselves 
by  hunting.  The  Raven  is  now  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful and  respected  chiefs  upon  the  plains  of  the  pampas. 

The  return  of  the  expedition,  after  the  rescue  of 
Ethel  and  the  chastisement  of  the  Indians  in  the  heart 
of  their  own  country,  caused  quite  a  sensation  through- 
out the  Republic.  Of  Mrs.  Hardy's  and  Maud's  joy  we 
need  not  speak,  but  the  adventure  was  considered  a  mat- 
ter of  congratulation  and  joy  throughout  the  whole 
district.  It  was  felt  that  a  signal  blow  had  been  struck 
to  the  Indians,  and  that  for  a  long  time  life  and  property 
would  be  secure.  There  was,  in  consequence,  quite  a 
rush  to  the  neighborhood  and  land  was  taken  up  and 
occupied  in  all  directions. 

It  was  well  for  Mrs.  Hardy  and  the  girls  that  they 
were  to  sail  by  the  next  mail  for  England.  The  effect 
of  those  terrible  four  days  upon  Ethel,  and  of  that  week 
cf  anxiety  upon  her  mother  and  sister,  had  so  shaken 
them  that  the  change,  even  if  it  had  not  been  previously 
determined  upon,  would  have  been  imperatively  neces- 
sary. It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Mrs.  Hardy  and 
Maud  had  suffered  even  more  than  Ethel.  She  at  least- 
had  known  and  seen  her  danger,  and  was  sustained, 
except  during  that  morning  when  she  was  fastened  to 
the  stake,  with  a  strong  hope  and  belief  of  rescue. 
Those  left  behind  could  do  nothing  but  picture  up 
scenes  of  horror,  and  pass  their  time  in  alternately  pray- 
ing and  weeping.  They  were  all  sadly  shaken  and 
nervous  during  the  short  time  that  remained  for  them 
at  Mount  Pleasant;  but  the  sea  voyage  and  the  fresh 
breezes  soon  brought  health  and  color  into  their  cheeks, 
and  none  of  them  ever  after  felt  any  bad  effects  from 
that  terrible  week. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

And  now  our  story  is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  stormy- 
period  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  settlement  was  over.  The 
hard  work,  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  life  of  a 
new  settler  on  the  extreme  edge  of  civilization,  had  been 
passed,  and  nothing  remained  but  to  continue  to  devote 
attention  and  energy  to  the  estate,  and  to  reap  the  fruits 
of  the  labor. 

For  two  years  after  the  departure  of  his  wife  and 
daughters  Mr.  Hardy  remained  at  his  post.  It  was  now 
nearly  six  years  since  he  had  left  England,  and  he  longed 
to  return  to  it.  He  felt  that  he  could  do  so  without  any 
uneasiness  as  to  the  future.  Eosario  was,  according  to 
his  anticipation,  rising  into  a  large  and  important  town; 
the  country  was  fairly  settled  for  leagues  beyond  the 
estate;  land  was  rapidly  rising  in  value;  and  there  was 
now  no  fear  whatever  of  Indian  attacks.  His  flocks  and 
herds  had  multiplied  greatly,  and  were  doubling  every 
two  years.  The  income  obtained  by  the  sale  of  cattle 
fatted  on  the  alfalfa,  and  upon  the  sale  of  wool  and 
other  farm  produce,  was  considerable.  The  dairy  alone 
brought  in  a  large  yearly  amount.  Charley  was  now 
twenty-two,  Hubert  a  year  younger;  both  were  as  capa- 
ble of  managing  the  estate  as  he  was  himself. 

He  one  day,  therefore,  unfolded  his  plans  to  them. 
"As  you  knows  boys,  I  am  going  to  England  shortly; 
and  although  I  shall  perhaps  now  and  then  come  ovei* 
here,  I  shall  make  England  my  permanent  home.  You 
boys  will  therefore  jointly  manage  the  estate.  The 
income  this  year  will  reach  six  thousand  dollars,  and 
would  be  much  more  did  we  not  keep  the  greater  portion 
of  our  animals  to  increase  our  stock.  I  have  now  twelve 
thousand  tire  hundred  dollars  in  the  bank.  After  the 
busy  life  I  have  led  here,  I  could  not  remain  inactive. 
My  present  intention  is  to  take  a  large  farm  upon  a  long 
lease  with  the  option  of  .purchase.  My  object  will  be  t<* 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS. 

obtain  a  farm  of  large  acreage  and  poor  land,  but 
improvable  by  better  drainage  and  an  outlay  of  capital. 
I  shall  risk  my  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  in 
this,  and  also  the  income  I  draw  from  here  for  the  next 
two  years.  The  profits  will  increase  each  year.  I  shall 
therefore  in  two  years  have  sunk  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  in  the  farm — a  portion  being  devoted  to  building 
a  suitable  house.  You  will,  of  course,  during  the  two 
years  spend  whatever  money  you  may  require;  but,  in 
fact,  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  spend  much  money  here. 
At  the  end  of  two  years  I  propose  that  first  you,  Charley, 
as  the  elder,  shall  come  home  to  England  for  a  year, 
and  then  that  Hubert  shall  take  his  turn.  You  will 
theia  stay  a  year  here  together,  and  again  have  each  a 
year  in  England,  and  so  on  regularly.  From  the  end  of 
this  two  years  I  shall  draw  half  the  income  of  this  estate, 
ancl  you  will  take  the  other  half  between  you,  to  invest 
or  use  as  you  may  think  fit.  At  the  end  of  six  years  I 
calculate  that  the  estate  will  be  stocked  with  as  many 
cattle  and  sheep  as  it  can  support.  Fifteen  thousand 
cattle,  say,  and  thirty  thousand  sheep.  You  will  then 
sell  all  your  annual  increase,  and  the  profits  will  be 
greater  every  year.  At  the  end  of  ten  years  from  this 
time,  if,  as  I  think  probable,  you  will  have  had  enough 
of  this  life,  we  will  sell  the  estate.  By  that  time  it  will 
be  the  center  of  a  populous  district,  the  land  will  be 
greatly  increased  in  value,  and  will  be  equal  to  any  in 
the  country — so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  will  probably  be 
out  of  the  question  to  find  a  purchaser  for  the  whole. 
We  could  therefore  break  it  up  to  suit  purchasers,  divid- 
ing it  into  lots  of  one,  two,  three,  or  four  square  miles, 
or  a  square  league,  and  dividing  the  stock  in  proportion. 
The  house  would,  of  course,  go  with  the  arable  land  and 
a  mile  or  two  of  pasture  beyond  it.  My  share  of  the 
yearly  income  I  shall  devote  to  buying  my  estate. 


OUT  ON  THE  PAMPAS.  275 

the  price  is  fifty  thouand  dollars.  This  I  shall,  with  my 
income  from  here  and  my  income  from  the  estate  itself, 
probably  be  able  to  make  in  ten  years.  The  estate,  with 
the  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  I  propose  to  risk  in  drain- 
age, etc.,  ought  then  to  be  worth  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  value  of  this  estate  of  fifty  thousand  acres, 
with  the  flocks  and  herds,  ought  to  be  at  least  double 
that  amount;  so  that  at  the  end  of  ten  years  I  shall  be  a 
rich.  man.  You,  with  care,  can  certainly  save  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  each  in  the  ten  years,  and  will  receive 
another  fifty  thousand  dollars  each  as  your  share  of  the 
estate.  You  will  consequently,  boys,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one  and  thirty-^wo,  be  able  to  settle  down  in 
England  in  very  comfortable  circumstances.  Your 
sisters  will  of  course  be  provided  for  out  of  my  share. 
Do  you  approve  of  my  plans?" 

The  boys  warmly  expressed  their  satisfaction  at  the 
plan,  and  their  gratitude  to  their  father  for  his 
intentions. 

And  so  things  were  carried  out. 

Six  months  after  Mr.  Hardy's  arrival  in  England,  the 
boys  heard  of  Maud's  marriage  to  Mr.  Cooper,  now,  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  a  wealthy  country  gentleman. 
Charley,  during  his  first  visit  to  England,  also  married 
— an  example  which  Hubert  followed  the  next  year. 

The  two  now  took  it  bv  turn  to  manage  the  estate— 
the  one  in  England  always  passing  a  considerable  portion 
of  his  time  at  Mr,  Hardy's,  and  spending  the  rest  in 
traveling. 

Ethel  was  married  the  year  after  Hubert  to  a  rising 
barrister  in  London. 

Everything  prospered  at  Mount  Pleasant,  and  at  the 
sale  it  was  broken  up  into  lots  and  fetched  rather  a 
larger  sum  than  Mr.  Hardy  had  calculated. 

Mr.  Hardy's  own  plan  had  been  fully  carried  out,  but 


N  TRE 

by  the  end  of  the  ten  years  he  began  to  wish  for  a  quiet 
town  life.  He  therefore  made  an  arrangement  with 
Charley,  whereby  the  latter,  who  had  obtained  some 
money  with  his  wife,  has  taken  his  place  as  master  of 
the  estate,  and  has  settled  down  into  the  life  of  a  coun- 
try gentleman,  which  exactly  suits  him. 

Hubert  lives  in  London.  His  income  is  sufficient  for 
fcis  wants,  he  has  become  a  member  of  a  number  of 
scientific  societies,  and  his  collection  of  the  fauna  of  the 
pampas  of  America  is  considered  to  be  unequaled. 

The  girls  are  very  happy  with  the  men  of  their  choice; 
1-zd.  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Hardy  have  always  some  of  their 
ehilflYan  or  grandchildren  staying  with  them,  and  often 
•.ise  the  young  ones  with  tales  of  how  their  fathers  or 
fought  the  Indians  on  the  pampas  of  South 


